The Leaf's 'Will Of Fire'
by Three roads
Summary: Iruka's will is ignited by the words of his leader as he casts aside the class clown act in order to become something so much more. Join Iruka as he journeys through his life with his only goal being the protection of those he holds dear. Join him as he becomes The Leaf's 'Will Of Fire'. IrukaxAnko pairing... rated m because well... anko's involved
1. A change in views

I was sitting around doing nothing in particular when I suddenly decided, you know what I'm going to make Iruka a bad ass and make him a much greater influence in the Naruto story line however it will start from his early days in the academy and move on into the cannon later on.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

Chapter one: A change in views

STRORY START

'SPLASH' was a sound followed by laughter as Iruka once again acted the class clown in front of his fellow academy students as he scratched the back of his head in mock-embarrassment in order to gain attention as he once again acted the clown by purposely failing such an easy task, of course the other students didn't need to know that as he slowly got out of the easy flowing river and returned to the rest of his class who were still laughing and pointing at him as he continued to rub the back of his head as a fake smile appeared on his face as he laughed with them as he thought to himself

'It certainly isn't like before but at least they are paying attention to me this way'. That soon changed however as he saw his 'classmates' lose all interest in him as he was just a lonely orphan who was only made to be laughed at by the everyone else whenever he mucked up. Iruka's fake smile soon disappeared and was replaced with a heavy sigh as he noticed that everyone had turned their attention away from him once more. He wondered what he had done to deserve this as he was constantly alone by himself and all because his parents had died while protecting the village from the Kyuubi. His parents were heroes but at the same time they had left him alone in the world and he couldn't help but feel a little anger at that. Anger that could not be placed anywhere but a grave, but if there was one thing Iruka feared more than anything it was that he would be forgotten like a ghost in the wind and his constant loneliness didn't help with that. That fear would soon turn into determination after a visit from none other than the Sandaime Hokage at the stone where his parents as well as all the other heroes who died names were placed in recognition of their efforts in saving the village.

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Iruka had been standing there for some time now as he looked on at the names of his dead parents as silent tears streamed down his face before fall to the ground below him. He couldn't help but feel this way every time he came here as an overwhelming sadness seemed to take over as he remembered the utter helplessness he felt as he was dragged to safety and away from his parents as he looked at their determined faces for the last time. He was so into feeling sorry for himself that he didn't even notice an old man walk up behind him and it wasn't until said old man put a hand on his shoulder that he finally noticed that someone other than him was there. When he did notice however, he acted on instinct alone as he quickly leaped forward at a speed which surprised the old man before Iruka finally turned around with a serious look on his face as he pulled a blunted kunai from his pocket as even if it was blunted it could still do some damage. To his surprise however when he finally got a look at his assailant he saw none other than his village leader and was quick to bow his head and apologise to the man who you just had to respect as even he had heard some of the extraordinary stories of this man's achievements. The current village leader surprised him again though when all he did was laugh and before the boy could even respond said

"It is all right Iruka, you were surprised and acted on instinct but I would like to know why you act so differently here than you do anywhere else" this caused the boy to blank for a moment before he sighed and replied with a sadness in his voice

"Because acting like a clown grants me a little attention and at the moment that is all I wish for… attention" to which the old man simply replied by simply asking 'why' exactly did he even want or need this kind of attention.

"Because any kind of attention is better than none" replied the boy in a sad tone while telling the village leader what he truthfully felt. The Kage level shinobi just looked at the boy for a moment which only served to freak the kid out a little as he became uncomfortable being stared at by the most powerful man in the village. The old man suddenly let out a sigh before a smirk danced upon his lips which only served to confuse the boy more before the old man spoke

"You boy, have been deeply affected by your parents death and that is understandable… however it concerns me that it has hit you so bad that you would go so far as to fake happiness in front of others. The will of fire is very strong with but for you to become powerful you must show your true self as if you don't all you will be doing is cursing your future as you put friends in danger. You felt helplessness when your parents died; I know this because I too have also felt helplessness in my life time but instead of crying over spilt milk I suggest that you grow your strength as much as possible so that next time you won't be so helpless when one of your precious people is in trouble" he finished with an air of finality that practically begged for someone to even try defy his words. The boy was taken aback by the old man's speech as he began to seriously think over what his leader had said. The current Hokage waited patiently for a whole ten minutes before he got his reply from the younger boy and when he did the old man smirked as he had the kid hook, line and sinker.

"What is the 'will of fire'" the boy had asked while honestly not knowing what the man had meant by that.

"The will of fire lives on through everyone in this village and is what makes Konoha so strong. The will of fire is the will to do anything in order to save his brother or sister in arms. It is the will to protect what is most precious to us. For me this whole village is precious along with everyone in it and just like your parents did I would happily die for any one of those people" The Sandaime replied honestly and proudly as he looked at the awed boy in front of him before he asked the boy in front of him

"So, now that I have told you what is precious to me why don't you tell me what is precious to you". The boy quickly took on a thinking pose as he tried to think about who or what was truly precious to him before he realised that through his grief of losing his parents he hadn't even opened the chest which held what his parents had left for him. He realised what a fool he had been before he quickly looked up to the old man before he replied

"Thank you Hokage-sama, you have made me realise the error of my ways and I am eternally grateful for that however as of this moment I am not able to fully answer your question so it is with a heavy heart that I request a time length of exactly one month in order to find for myself what is truly precious to me" bowing in apologise for not being able to answer the Hokage's question at that moment before he heard chuckling as he looked up at the man in front of him only to see the old man smiling before he replied by stating

"That is acceptable, however in return for this hold on your answer you must promise to me that no matter what happens to you in life, you will always carry the will of fire" The boy smiled at being allowed a month to find his answer before a shocked look crossed his face at the proposition of his leader. However as the boy thought about he smiled and nodded to the old man before he made the promise that would change his views for life

"I promise to always carry with me, the will of fire" the boy said with a little bit of confidence seeping back into his voice. The old man's smile only grew at those words before the two said their good-byes as the Sandaime Hokage was left to wonder why the boy had told him to wait a month before he remembered with a smile

'Ah yes the academy graduation is a month from now if I'm not mistaken'

STORY END

The meeting changed and Mizuki did not make an entrance but that is mostly because he will only have a minor role in this fanfiction if any. Now there are a few things to work out such as:

Iruka's genin team and sensei however I was planning on putting him with the eternal gate keepers but not totally sure on the sensei quite yet.

What lies in Iruka's family trunk…. Who knows maybe a sword or weapon of some kind… or maybe a summoning contract?

Until next time

**R&R**


	2. Death's gifts

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

Chapter 2: Death's gifts

As Iruka ran back home to the orphanage he was currently staying at, he found himself wondering about just what it was that his parents had left him 'Maybe a sword or even some awesome jutsu' he thought to himself. He quickly binned that idea however as he remembered that his parents never really used any weapons other than kunai and he didn't ever recall his mother or father mentioning anything about the cool new jutsu that they made so he assumed that they didn't have any. He wouldn't let this damper his excitement however as he raced back to his current home.

When he arrived, he quickly rushed past the other orphans at a speed that made them all think that he was in trouble… again. When Iruka finally got to his room he quickly jumped under his bed before he grabbed his trunk and pulled it out. He simply stared at the chest for a moment before he quickly grabbed hold of the trunk again carefully hoisted it upon his shoulders as he began his journey right back out of the way he had come. He knew not to open the chest anywhere near the other orphans as he was sure they would try to steal some of his parent's gifts. So he began his journey away from the orphanage and towards his favourite training ground. This was training ground 43 where his parents had taken him for his first training lesson. When he arrived he took a moment to admire the true serenity that almost seemed to burst out from around in an incredibly calming manner. As soon as that brief moment ended however he made a mad dash over to the tallest tree inside the training ground where he had often had picnics with his parents before they died.

Once he reached the tree he set the trunk down with a carefulness that showed just how much care he had for the items in which the trunk contained. The boy then hesitantly moved his thumb in front of his face before he bit into it in order to get some of his own blood as it was needed to get into the trunk. As he did so you could see a brief sign of pain entering the boy's face which showed his inexperience in pain tolerance as of this moment. Iruka quickly got over that brief pain however when he remembered what he was there for so it was with a baited breath that he took his thumb and slowly slid it across the blood seal in which only his blood would unseal what was inside… or at least that had been the instructions the Hokage had given him when he first received the trunk that his parents had left behind.

It had been at his parent's funeral.

Ever since the death of his parents he had been alone as all of his parent's friends had perished on that life-changing night 'but at least the beast had died' he thought to himself. The boy then shook his head in order to get rid of his unwanted thoughts before he set his sights back on what he had just done. When he did finally look down he was surprised to find that the box had fully opened before he quickly changed that face for a gobsmacked one as he saw just how much his parents had left behind. The trunk had been quite literally been filled to the brim. The first thing he noticed was the two letters that stood at the top of the pile and almost cried when he saw the names on those letters.

They were from his mum and dad.

It was with a shaky arm that the boy reached out with which only became more so, as his finger grasped on to them both. It took him a couple minutes just to calm down before he was finally grabbed the one from his mother.

_Dear Iruka-kun, _

_I will always love you no matter what._

_I am so sorry that I and your father are no longer around to care for you. It breaks my heart that you will have to grow up without any parents to guide you but I know you will live on to do great things._

_The reason that I and your Otōsan have written these letters is merely because although we hate to admit it, our jobs are not always the safest as I'm sure you will one day find out. We have wrote these letters as a precaution so that in any case if both of us are to die protecting the village then you will still be able to train or do whatever it is that you wish._

_In the trunk lies your inheritances so don't be hesitant in taking any of it. I only ask that you pay attention and carefully read over what your Otōsan has written about it all. _

_You are and always will be my little Iruka-kun_

_Love you always,_

_Your one and only Okāsan._

_p.s. make sure to find a nice girl and make me some grand-kids._

Iruka quickly brushed aside his tears with a slight blush gracing his cheeks as he finished reading his motherletter before moving onto his fathers.

_Dear son,_

_I will always love you no matter what._

_Because your Okāsan added all that mushy stuff already I am going to move on to what you get for your inheritance and although there is no twenty room mansion or even stick of thatYakitori you love so much – _At this Iruka chuckled a bit as he remembered his favourite treat – _but I assure you that everything we have left for you we have put a lot of love into it._

_First up is your cash reward, (ha-ha genius) but seriously along with our apartment that we lived in (which we owned by the way) you will also receive the total amount of money that I and your Okāsan have saved up however much that may be. You can get it by simply asking the Hokage for it. Second on the list is a clothes design that your Okāsan created for you and I approved (don't want you wearing something cute now do we) – _As Iruka continued to read his father's letter he began to go through his what his father had so far talked about while silently thanking the man for making sure his future outfit wasn't cute – _anyway in the trunk is also some basic equipment like Kunai and Shurikan. _

_In this trunk there is also a weapon that I hope will protect you as it did me along with my father. This weapon is known as a Nunchaku but the title of the nunchaku (nun chucks) that you now own is 'Nibui kiba' or otherwise known as the 'blunted fangs'. This is what someone may call a family heirloom as it has been around for two generations before you and I hope that one-day you will continue this by handing it down to your child. Alongside the 'nibui kiba' I have also left you my very own style of using it called '_Shibō bōkō'_ however in order to train correctly you need more than a book so if you are in need of help then look for my old student known as Might Guy._

_Now on to your mothers more prominent presents, The first is a book on the shinobi basics as everyone should know that before you move on to the more advanced things you must first master the basics. This book contains a variety of things like chakra control, some low grade nin/gen-jutsu, the basics of a few different tai-jutsu and finally the very basics of fuin-jutsu like with sealing and stuff. (This is all stuff in which I and your Okāsan have gained knowledge of over our years as ninja)_

_The last present your Okāsan got you was also a kind of heirloom and is impossibly rare – _This only intrigued the boy more as he wondered how his mother had come across something that was rare – _it was during a mission that she became the first ever to hold a summoning contract with the Sables by protecting some of their young from enemy ninja who were after their rich fur. The instructions for how to use this jutsu is on the summoning scroll that you will find inside of this trunk (it the biggest scroll)._

_That is everything we have left for you but before I finish I would like to say how proud it makes me that I have such an amazing son. I will leave you with the words of my sensei 'If you fail a mission then you may lose some respect but if you fail a brother you __**will **__lose so much more'._

_Good-bye my son_

_From your ever-prideful Otōsan. _

Iruka didn't know whether to be shocked, teary-eyed, ecstatic or all three or at least that's what he was trying to do before he heard what seemed to be a slightly annoyed but mostly curious feminine voice that seemed to shock him out of his tears

"Hey Baka, What are you doing out in a training field". Iruka's response was to quickly close his trunk with everything in it before he sealed it shut with a small spark of his chakra. When he had completed that task he finally turned around to face the girl who had interrupted him before he fell over backwards when he found her right behind him. She laughed outright which caused the boy to blush at the angel like voice before his blush turned crimson as he noticed her appearance. She had light brown, pupil-less eyes, and black hair which had a blue to it, which is styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. Her forehead protector was worn proudly on her head. She was wearing a Chunin vest although she was obviously a rookie as she could only be a couple years older than he was… three at max. What drew his blush however was the fact that apart from the vest and a dark orange **mini**-skirt she only wore a form fitting mesh body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs… It showed off a lot. She was also wearing a small pendant that looked like a snake fang on a thick cord that only seemed to attract more attention to her generous bust. She was obviously a powerful and sexy girl who knew how to flaunt, or to our friend from the shadow clan, troublesome.

When the boy finally got over his blush (a weaker man would have been lost to blood loss) he forced himself to look at nothing but her face. This left the girl amazed as not many men and even some woman could stop eyeing her up quite so quickly and she was impressed by his effort to not look at her as many would just continue to stare… until they were knocked unconscious of course.

"So Baka, you going to answer my question?" asked the girl. Her response was a bunch of stuttering before the boy finally calmed down enough to reply

"I...I was just training a little" trying to lie his way out of his situation but the girl spotted the lie a mile away and although she was kind of pissed off at the fact that this Baka would lie to her she had to admit that it did make her a little more curious as to what he was hiding in his trunk so she asked

"What's in the trunk and don't bother lying this time since you suck at it". The boy had a surprised look on his face before it shifted to one of understanding as he nodded slightly letting her know that he understood. He then hesitantly replied with the truth

"The stuff my parents left behind" he spoke with a slightly sad but prideful tone letting her know that he was proud to be there son. The girl blanked a little before she let a soft smile develop as she asked for his name

"Iruka… Umino Iruka… what is yours" the boy responded before she looked at him quizzically which made him think that he should know her name before he quickly went over her features once again in his head before with a start he realised who she was

"Anko Mitarashi?" The brown haired boy asked questionably. The girl nodded before lowering her head while expecting the abuse she had quickly become acquainted with only to be shocked by the boy in front of her as said

"You're a lot nicer than I have heard" with a truthful tone in his voice. She almost cried when she heard those words. When Iruka noticed this he quickly made to apologise but was stopped by Anko's raised hand as she simply stated "…Thank you…" in a baited breath. She then looked down at this boy that she had only met by pure coincidence before she gave him a rarely seen true smile that almost stopped the boy's heart before turned and began to walk away from the now confused boy before he shouted out for her to wait. She turned around to face him and he quickly took notice of her wet eyes and decided to speed things along by asking a single word that would be cherished for a life time

"Friends?" in a questionable tone as the girl just stood there frozen in her spot for a while before she slowly nodded her head and quickly turned and ran away while leaving a confused but happy boy in her wake.

'hmm… girls' the boy thought before going back to his parents 'gifts' with a renewed smile on his face.

STORY END

Until next time

**R&R**

NOTES:

Iruka will not be god powerful but he will be more powerful than he was in the original series whether that be Tokubetsu jonin or a complete jonin remains to be unknown as of yet but I am all for suggestions on that area.

Both of Iruka's parents were jonin level ninja before they died but only his father ever had students with one being might guy and the other being… I guess you will have to wait and see.


	3. preparation and a secret photo

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

Chapter 3: Training and results

STORY START

After Anko had left Iruka had quickly gone over everything he had inherited once more before he developed a plan of action about what order he should go about learning what he had been given but soon realised just how late it was getting and decide to figure out an order the next day. On his way home he saw people look at him oddly but he didn't care as he just couldn't seem to rid himself of the smile that had attached itself to his face. When he arrived back at the Orphanage he walked briskly to his room before he planted the trunk under his bed with great care and hopping into bed with that same smile still spread across his face.

It was safe to say that Iruka's constant nightmares would be replaced by dreams of his future tonight.

When Iruka woke up the sun was just beginning to rise but the young boy knew something was up and his worry only intensified when he realised with a scarce breath that his trunk was no longer laying under his bed. Iruka quickly jumped up as he raced down the stairs as he began to hear a bunch of boys grunting and the sound of metal clashing against wood. His eyes widened when he found the source of the grunts. It was just two of the older orphans going at it again he thought with a sweat drop and slightly rosy cheeks but this posed the new problem of where exactly his lost trunk was. The boy then quickly calmed himself as he remembered his father's words from when he was younger 'Son, if you ever lose something of importance you must keep a clear head and retrace your steps before you use your head to figure out just where it went and how it got there' and so the scar faced boy returned to the room he had woke up in only to stare dumbly at the door as he realised that he had woken up in a completely different room then he had gone to sleep in.

Deciding he could figure this out later he quickly ran to his room but when he tried to open the door he found it was locked so he quietly put his head to the door and listened in to what he thought where two voices before he realised with a start just who these two boys were. Their names were Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki and everyone knew that they were all but brothers in blood but what confused Iruka was what his two classmates were doing in his room so before long Iruka decided to take the matter into his own hands as he was worried that the two idiots were trying to get into his chest and so it was with a heavy breath and a small smirk that the boy put all his power into kicking the door down and it would have worked to had the door not been rotten. In the end there were two boys that were scared shitless while Iruka's leg was now stuck in the door as he cursed his forgetfulness. Iruka quickly made the whole bigger by punching a spot right next to it before he pulled his leg out and quickly put his arm through the hole and undid the lock but when he undid the lock he was shocked as he saw a scared Kotetsu and Izumo quickly and desperately trying to pull down what looked like photos as Kotetsu sighed with relief when he saw who it was although Izumo didn't seem to care before he noticed Kotetsu had stopped and instantly yelled at the other boy

"What the fuck do you think you're doing idiot, someone else could come soon" this seemed to have the desired effect as Kotetsu went straight back to taking the pictures down as Iruka just stood there with his jaw dropped to the floor as he took notice of just what the pictures were of before he finally got over his stupor and yelled

"Da fuck do you think you're doing assholes" in a tone that left no room for questioning but the two boys just kept working on getting all the pictures down which caused a tick mark to form on his head as he calmly walked up and grabbed hold of one of the photo before he placed the photo in between his hands in a gesture that over exaggerated a scene where would rip the picture to pieces and yelled at the two boys

"If you don't tell me why you're in MY room right now then I will rip this photo to pieces" with extra emphasise on the MY part of the sentence. This seemed to get the two boys attention as they gasped in horror as they couldn't believe a male would ever do such a thing before Izumo quickly answered Iruka by saying in a desperate tone

"Please don't Iruka, you don't know just how hard we had to work to get these" this caused Iruka to narrow his eyes in suspicion before he asked

"And what exactly did you get these for?" which caused the two boys to smirk as this time Kotetsu responded in what seemed to be an almost proud manor

"For cash of course" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. This caused Iruka to think about what he would do next and as he was thinking he looked at the picture and blushed when he saw it was Anko before he sweat dropped as he noticed it was her in her usual attire only to hit the floor as he realised that she was actually striking a pose while pulling a 'v' sign. As Iruka was getting up from his fall he realised what he was going to do as he slipped the picture into his pocket before he raised to his full height of 4 foot, 6 inches while bringing his right up to it and coughing into it nervously while the two boys in front of him just smirked knowingly as Iruka began to speak

"*cough*cough*… I uh… think we can safely say that this meeting between us never happened" only to receive nods from the two boys in recognition before Iruka quickly got his confidence back and yelled at the two boys

"Now get the fuck out of my room". The two boys then quickly ran out of Iruka's room although not without the massive grins that accompanied them. Sighing to himself Iruka then quickly went over and opened his curtains before he looked at the door in horror as he thought of what the old lady that ran this place would do to him when she found out about the hole in his door before he remembered that he now owned an apartment and all he needed to do was go to the Hokage in order to claim it. So with that in mind the brown haired boy quickly grabbed his trunk from under his bed and once again popping it on top of his shoulders began his walk to the Hokage tower.

After a short walk through the village in which the boy got a lot of questioning and confused stares he finally arrived at the Hokage tower and couldn't believe his luck when he found that the Hokage was free and that the boy could go right in and talk to him. So it was with a giant smile and a skip in his step he walked into the room where he would find the Hokage. How he did this with a trunk on his back was beyond anyone as they quickly went back to their day as they were kind of used to seeing these strange occurrence what with being ninja and all.

When Iruka entered the Hokage's office he was surprised to find the OLD Hokage flinging fireballs at the paperwork on his desk while yelling out that he would be doing the world a favour before water balls seemed to shoot out of the walls and stopping the hokage from burning the paper to a crisp. Just as the Hokage was about to throw another fireball he finally took notice to the fact that there was another person in his office other than him and his ANBU of course. The old man quickly turned serious as he sat down at his desk and calmly began doing some paperwork before he looked up and acted surprised when he saw Iruka standing there as everyone else in the room fall to the floor as they were astounded by the old man in front of them. Once the boy got back up again he was addressed by the Hokage as he asked what the boy was there for. The boy then responded by saying

"I came to get the key for the apartment I own as well as my how my father put it 'cash reward'" while he made a gesture with his fingers at 'cash reward' as he really didn't see it as such. The old man laughed silently to himself before he addressed the young man in front of him once more

"Yes your father always did have a sense of humour… anyway here is your key and paper work for your inherited 'cash reward', will there be anything else" as he said this he handed the boy his things. The boy took what he was given and quickly signed the paperwork to his 'cash reward' before he handed the paperwork back to the old man while putting the key in the opposite pocket from the picture to avoid any unwanted occurrences. The boy then thought about what the old man had said and thought of what he still needed to do in regards with his inheritance before with a nod of his head he replied

"You could reference me to a good tailor" which caused the Hokage to lean back in his chair and think before he came back smiling as he said

"Dog, would you mind dropping the boy off at Robins clothes store thank you". Before the boy could ask him who he was talking to he felt a hand on his shoulder and suddenly he was outside what looked to be a clothes store as he thought to himself 'I got to learn how he did that' before he wondered into the store in front of him as he went straight to the counter but before ringing the bell he quickly opened his trunk and got out the design that his mum had made before he sealed the trunk shut once again. When he was done with that he quickly rang the bell and waited patiently for the tailor to come… and waited… and waited before finally after about half an hour of waiting the tailor finally came out while introducing herself,

"Hey, I'm Robin Hatake, what can I do for ya". After about a minute of Iruka just standing there while staring at the tailor in front of him in annoyance he quietly placed the design on the table before asking how much and how long a wait it would be. His response was that after she took his measurements she would have it done in just under a month while saying it took a while to create a true masterpiece. The boy then quickly got his measurements taken before he exited the store and began to walk in the direction of his apartment as he still remembered where it was. When he got there he arrived to find everything much the same as it was before the Kyuubi attacked, the only difference being the dust that had now spread around the house so it was without a word that he placed his trunk next to the couch in the living room before he set about cleaning up the house.

Iruka had been cleaning his apartment for two hours when he heard his stomach growl and remembered that he hadn't had any breakfast this morning and decided that he would go and get some brunch… it was almost lunch anyways. He grabbed some canned food he found in the pantry and eats it quickly before he decided to revisit his trunk and devise what he would do next. When Iruka looked inside he realised just how much stuff he still needed to learn as he began to make a schedule for himself based on a schedule his parents had written down in the book his mother had left him.

When he finally worked out all the kinks he decided that his schedule would be:

7 – 8am. Warm up with laps around the village plus push-ups, pull-ups, punches and kicks which would all differ as he went along but would start at 5 laps, 50 push-ups, 50 pull-ups, 100 punches and 100 kicks.

8 – 9am. Chakra control exercises based on what is in the book (start with tree climbing)

10 – 11am. Practice with 'Nibui kiba' in the style of 'Shibō bōkō' (find Guy and ask for help after have established the basics)

1 – 2pm. Summoning training

2 – 3pm. Ninjutsu training (Practice lower ranking jutsu from book until mastered. Note: work on no more than three jutsu at a time)

3 – 4pm. Taijutsu training (Find a Taijutsu that works well with my other abilities such as the style of 'Shibō bōkō'. Note: find someone else to find another's opinion on what you decide)

4 – 5pm. Meditation (study in awareness and become calmer)

7 – 9pm. Study what is in the book (would be preferable to know the basics of everything you can)

Iruka grinned as he looked at what would be his training in the weekends after all he still had to turn up to classes in order to pass the written test. For the Weekdays when he was at school he would do his warm up before he went to school and then he would train for two hours afterward doing whatever needed the most work before he would spend half an hour on studying for the written exam.

Iruka looked up and realised that most of the day had gone by but he figured that he would begin looking at the book his mum and dad made for him and see if there was anything that really jumped at him as a necessity. That night Iruka found a taijutsu style that he would begin learning the basic of the next day as it was the last day of the weekend, the style was called Sagi-shi or faker which is a taijutsu style that relies on the enemy's underestimation as the user waits for the opportune moment to strike. One of the reasons Iruka choose this style was because of its defensive nature as it went well with his prominently offensive weapon style.

As the boy got into bed and got ready to go to sleep he thought 'And so it begins'.

STORY END

Explanations:

Robin Hatake – In this story Kakashi will have other family however they will only civilians.

School – I haven't the slightest clue about the arrangements of the academy so I did it like a regular school in this world.

Next chapter will be of genin advancements and other stuff.

Thanks for reading and remember to **R&R**.


	4. progress to genin exams

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

sorry about the confusion with the picture thingy last chapter and i will go back and add in that the reason behind them using his room is because it was one of the few rooms with curtains at all let alone one without holes in it.

Longest chapter I've ever written

Enjoy

Chapter 4: progress to genin exams

STORY START

The month leading up to the genin examinations would always be memorable for Iruka as it was the kick-start towards his career as a ninja. Keeping to his schedule Iruka was able to improve on everything he set out to improve on.

Because the boy had been doing his 'warm ups' daily he had been able to push forward the most in this area and was proud to say that even though he was still too young to use weights he had bypassed his own expectation as the month of constant work outs had boosted his stamina and muscles at an alarming rate. Iruka would now begin with ten laps around the village before he moved on to 150 push-ups, 150 sit-ups, 500 punches and 500 kicks. Iruka was also proud of his physical change as he could now be seen with lean muscle as well as gaining another inch in height as he was now 4 foot, 7 inches.

Iruka was proud to say that he had conquered the tree climbing technique in the first week and had spent the rest of the month perfecting to a level where he could now fight in the trees at a proficient level. The boy was also proud of his advancement in his father's weapon style 'Shibō bōkō' and could now fight with his 'Nibui kiba' at a basic level but admitted that he would definitely need the help of this 'Guy' person that his father had mentioned to progress much further as there was only so much you could learn from a scroll.

With the use of the book that was left to him by his mother and father he was able to master one jutsu from the book as well as the academy three (The civilian council had by this stage already taken control of the academy and thus lowered its standards to that of the Naruto series canon) which was called Kage shuriken no jutsu. This jutsu was a grade above the three E-ranked jutsu that you needed to pass the exams and proved to be a good mid to long-range technique for Iruka to add to his arsenal.

Iruka had also taken a liking to the Sagi-shi styled taijutsu and was quickly becoming efficient at the basics but just like his weapons style he would need help from someone more advanced to guide him. Something that he was hoping his sensei could do when he gained one. Meditation had been a big help to Iruka as he now took notice to his surrounding better and was harder to anger. It was during one of these meditation sessions that the came across something that confused him and he was hoping his sensei could tell him what it was as it troubled him immensely. Little did Iruka know that he was beginning to develop his until now hidden sensory skills.

Iruka had also learnt how to make both sealing scrolls and paper bombs through the use of fuinjutsu and knew how to use them both. He had also studied the human anatomy as well as what he had to for his written exam such as the history of Konoha. It was safe to say that Iruka was confident that he would pass the test and who knows he might even achieve rookie of the year as he didn't think many others in his class had trained much outside of the academy except for the very few clan children in his class and even then one of them was a Nara. Throughout the month most of the kids had noticed the difference in Iruka's physical side but quickly wrote it off as nothing when he continued to act the class clown once more 'boy were they in for a surprise come the exams' Iruka had thought with a smirk.

The most interesting of all his different styles of training however would be his summoning and more in particular would be his first meeting with the Sable clan's boss as it was a meeting that he would remember for the rest of his days.

(FLASH-BACK)

Iruka had just finished his lunch and was looking forward to the second half of his first day of training and was now heading towards the trunk he kept everything of value inside. After grabbing the biggest scroll inside he locked the trunk before he began to run towards training ground 43 as he was excited to meet his new summons and gain more friends even if they weren't human. When Iruka arrived at the training ground he went straight to the tallest tree in the area before he sat down with his back against said tree and laid the now opened scroll in front of him. The scar faced boy then looked at the instructions that his mother had left for him before he followed them accordingly.

The first thing he did was bite his thumb in order to draw blood before he used that blood to sign his name next to the only other name on their… it was his mother and the name appeared to be crossed out crudely as if it had been done by some kind of claw. He quickly put that out of his mind however as he finished his signature. Iruka then read the only other instruction on the scroll left by his mother which told him the hand signs in order to do the summoning jutsu that was required to summon your contracted animals. She also told him that the more chakra he put into his jutsu the more powerful the summon that arrives.

Iruka then quickly went about memorising the hand seals before he began to do them in sequence as fast as he could in order to bring it to muscle memory as well as speed up the length in time it would take him to summon the members of the sable clan. When the boy had got the time down to a speed that was at an adequate level he decided to try his hand in summoning. The boy decided to use a quarter of his total chakra in the first attempt and he figured that it would take a lot of chakra to summon a contracted animal and he did not want to waste his chakra by not adding enough and having to try and summon multiple times which would cause him to lose more chakra than need be.

Iruka then bite his thumb once more and performed the hand seals before he plant his palm on the ground while being extra careful to make sure that he added a quarter of his chakra to the jutsu. When the puff of smoke disappeared that was caused by the jutsu Iruka didn't know whether to be exited or disappointed as he looked at the sable in front of him. Having heard stories about the massive toads that the fourth Hokage could summon into battle had got his hopes up but instead he found himself looking at a slightly above average sable that looked to be around 65cm long. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts however as the sable in front of him suddenly jumped at him as it yelled

"Where did you find this scroll _human_" while putting particular emphasis on the word human. Iruka was too busy in trying to make sure the animal he had summoned didn't rip his neck. After a few minutes of tussling the boy was able to get the sable away from his neck and quickly said

"Look at the scroll, I was given it by my mother". This seemed to have the desired effect as the sable in front of him suddenly stopped his attempts at killing the boy but it did not drop its guard as it slowly moved over to the scroll and saw that the boy had been speaking the truth. The sable instantly bowed its head in what appeared to be shame as it spoke

"Forgive me, my experiences with humans have been rather few and the few I have had almost cost me my life" finishing in a slightly angry tone that showed that he did not trust humans at all and was probably never going to. Iruka just stared at the animal in front of him as he thought of a reply

"I understand and I hope that one day I might be able to show you that not all humans are all that bad" Iruka said with a kind and truthful smile but the sable in front of him remained sceptical.

"I will ask you this however; now that you know my name would you do me the honour of giving me yours" spoke Iruka once again as he stared at the sable with an expectant look which was met by a surprised look as the sable never would have thought that the boy would ask something so trivial of him.

"Shadow… and you must come with me to be tested by my father and the boss of the sable clan… I suggest you grab the summoning scroll before we go though" The now named Shadow spoke as he wondered how this boy would fare in the eyes of his father. The boy nodded excitedly as he quickly grabbed the scroll and walked over to Shadow while gesturing to him that he was ready as he still had all his weapons attached to him from earlier. His 'Nibui kiba' was attached to his belt that the boy now wore around his waist and he had his kunai in a holder on his thigh. Shadow just nodded to the boy before he used the reverse summoning technique in order to take the brown haired boy to his homeland.

When Iruka looked up all he could see was forest as it seem to surround them and go on in every direction in an endless sea of trees. Iruka then felt a hard tug on his pants and as he looked down he noticed it was Shadow who was biting his pants with an annoyed look on his face and looked as though he was trying to drag the boy somewhere. Iruka quickly recognised this and began to follow the son of the sable boss who led the boy deeper into the bush until the pair came to a very large den. This den was hidden incredibly well for its size as unless you knew it was there you would almost never stumble upon it. Shadow then dragged the boy inside where the boy received an even bigger surprise however when he noticed the resident that lived inside the massive den. The first thing Iruka took notice to was the biggest by a margin and although he wasn't nearly as big as the toad summons he had heard about in the stories but it still looked as big as a horse and looked as though it could be rode on if necessary.

Shadow then walked over to the massive sable and poked it gently only for the mass to not move. After several more prods the young sable finally got sick prodding the mass in front of him and yelled

"Dad, we got a visitor". This managed to get the big mass to move before it was suddenly right up in Iruka's face looking like he was about to tear him a new one before he rocked back on his legs and sat down in front of the human while laughing up a storm

"Hahahaha… you got guts kid haha… you remind me of your mother". Iruka after he got out of his stupor was surprised at what the supposed boss summons of the sable said and so he asked the horse sized sable

"What do you mean I have guts? And how do you know my mother?" The boss suddenly stopped laughing and looked straight into Iruka's eye which unnerved the boy a bit though he did not falter as he knew the importance of being strong in these types of situations. The boss then smirked at the boy but to anyone who didn't know him it looked more like a scowl.

"You have guts because you have not yet pissed yourself and as to how I knew your mother, well I was her familiar so I knew her quite well" the boss answered the boys question. This caused Iruka's jaw to drop to the floor before he quickly recovered himself and even though a hundred different questions were floating around in his head he put them aside for now and asked the boss the same question he had to his son

"Thank you for answering my questions but before you test me to see if I am worthy of being the representative of this clan I have but one more question… What is the name of my mother's one time familiar?" this caused the boss to laugh out loud though he was secretly impressed with the boy as he knew just how hard it much have been for him to not ask about his now deceased mother. The boss got over his laughter quickly and answered

"Very well Iruka, my name is Hunter but you do not need to worry about the test as you have already passed. Now on to more important manners, Shadow my son will now be your familiar and you will come here to train with him as often as possible… oh and one more thing you may want to get some hunting skills as if you do summon one of our kind we will expect and meal as our payment for our services" This caused the two others in the room to gasp in shock before they both yelled out a strangled

"WHAT!"

(FLASH-BACK END)

From that moment on Iruka would summon Shadow whenever he was doing nothing as well as when he had the scheduled practices so that he and Shadow could learn to fight as one which required the boy to once again begin learning another style of fighting but thought that he was progressing at a good rate. On the plus side however Iruka now knew how to hunt as Shadow had used some of the lessons to teach Iruka how to hunt effectively and the boy was proud that he could now successfully catch his on food.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had finally come, today was the day of the genin exams and to say Iruka was pumped would be an understatement. Iruka's had picked up his new outfit the day beforehand and although it did take a while he was pleased with the results. Iruka was currently wearing his new outfit on the way to the exams.

His outfit consisted of black combat boots which were covered at the top by a pair of pants that looked as though it was meant to camouflage in the forest as it had colours of brown, green and black splashed all over it in a fashion never before seen in the elemental nations (AN: army pants). On his right thigh a kunai holder was strapped tightly and made for easy access. The boy wore a new belt in which held his 'Nibui kiba' at the side of his hip in a frightening matter. On top, the boy was wearing a mesh undershirt that was hidden by skin tight black short sleeved muscle shirt which showed his abs off to the world. On top of that Iruka wore a Sable coloured trench coat but what stuck out the most was the kanji on the back that stated that he was the representative of the sable clan (AN: Kind of like Naruto's sage capes kanji only Iruka is not a sage yet so representative is written instead). Aside from that he was wearing some leather fingerless gloves which had metal plating over the knuckles.

Iruka's new outfit was attracting a lot of attention but the boy didn't seem to care as he marched on towards the academy. When he arrived at the academy he only seemed to see more of these looks before the popular kids quickly got over it and started to make fun of the 'dobe' of the year. Questioning tones of those that regarded themselves as important but others would call pompous seemed to come firing at Iruka with comments like 'he's just trying to be cool' or 'he'll never be cool' seeming to be the most frequent. The few kids inside of the class who did actually try though didn't listen to the idiots as they all seemed to gawk at the kanji on Iruka's back and the meaning behind it. Iruka himself didn't seem to care as he just sat down near the back of the class and tuned out the rest of the class as he waited for the exams to begin.

He did not have to wait long however as the instructor came in through the door five minutes later with his hands full with a stack of test papers and a smile on his face. Iruka was soon handed his test after a curious glance from the chunin instructor. The students had an hour to finish the exam but as Iruka finished with ten minutes to spare that most of the class was already finished although the boy didn't know if that was from the test being too easy or that the students just knew so little and by the look most of the other students were giving it proved to be the latter.

Next was taijutsu as the class was taken outside and lined up in a single file to be tested by the chunin in taijutsu and depending on how long you lasted, skills you showed and quality of the strategies you used against the instructor. It wasn't long before it was Iruka's turn and as he stepped up to the ring the boy was once again a subject of much insults, not that he bothered to notice them as he slipped into his Sagi-shi taijutsu stance which surprised everyone who knew the stance while it created mass confusion in the majority of the kids watching. The proctor then called go but unlike the others in his class he did not just charge in like a headless chicken as he waited for the proctor to make the first move and after a few minutes he did as he charged forward in the basic academy stance with his fist cocked back ready to punch Iruka. Iruka saw this a mile away however as he began to swiftly dodge all of the attacks that had been sent his way while he searched for an opening.

It was a couple minutes later when he got his chance as the scar faced boy took hold of the chunins overstretched arm and used the man's momentum against him as he managed to flip the man over his back before he quickly capitalised on the downed proctor by lifting up his leg and bringing it down heel first into the man's stomach as hard as he could before he followed up with a volley of punches and kicks to the man's stomach and chest area before he managed to pick the chunin instructor up and attempted to throw him out of the ring but the chunin was easily able to gain his balance again. The proctor stood up straight once again with almost no changes from when they had started the fight and asked the boy

"You have passed but if there is more that you wish to show" he paused waiting for the boy to respond which he did with a shake of his head and the man continued

"Well then you can hurry along to the weapons section of the exams" the man finished before he faced the next student while asking them to come forward.

When Iruka arrived at the next test he was forced to dodge a kunai that seemed to fly at him from out of nowhere before he heard an all too familiar voice say

"If it isn't my little training grounds buddy" the feminine voice said before Anko appeared next to him while she looked slightly disappointed before she pouted while asking why Iruka had dodged her kunai while Iruka just sweat dropped before stating he wanted to pass the exams and in order to do that he had to be alive. Strangely the girl seemed to brighten up a little before she told Iruka what he had to do in order to pass the test.

She told Iruka how he needed to hit the centre of the target 6/10 times from 20 metres away before he would have to get at least 4/10 times with a moving target and then the girl would test him with any other weapon the student had on them.

"Tell you what, if you manage to hit all of the targets dead centre and impress me with those nun chucks you have I'll go on a date with ya" Anko said in a calm manner as she smirked when she saw the boy in front of her attempt to stammer out a response with impossibly red cheeks showing the boy was indeed blushing. After a few seconds however Iruka suddenly turned deadly serious as this was his first date with a girl on the line and he wasn't going to waste it especially when said girl was the one he secretly keeps a picture of stashed in his trunk at home. Anko quickly noticed this as her smirk changed to a full blown grin when she saw just how serious this boy was now that a date with her was on the line.

Iruka took a calming breath before he quickly went about hitting the ten stationary targets and after a matter of seconds he had hit all of them dead centre. Soon the moving target followed however on the last throw his finger slipped slightly and the kunai he had thrown only hit the outer part of the centre of the target. Iruka sighed to himself as he had lost his chance at a date and Anko was also a little disappointed before she called him over to see just how good he was with those nun chucks he carried on his waist for an added grade.

Iruka quickly went into his _'_Shibō bōkō' weapons fighting stance with both of the nun chuck ends in either hand as he placed his left foot slightly forward and his right backwards before crouching slightly so that he was ready to move if he had to. Unlike with his taijutsu as soon as she called go he sped forward in an all-out dash towards Anko as he began spinning the nun chucks in his right hand in order for it to gain momentum before he lashed out at Anko from above only for her to dodge to the side and pull out a kunai and flinging at him causing the boy to jump back in order to dodge. Iruka then began to pick up the momentum of the nun chucks rotation as he used his whole body to quicken its momentum before he once again charged at the girl but this time he swung sideways at a height that made him look like he was trying to decapitate the girl. Anko easily ducked under the strike but wasn't ready for the following sweep kick that took out her legs from under her before the boy made to follow up quickly why he had the chance as he brought he nun chuck down on the girls stomach while keeping the momentum of it the same by rotating it the opposite way as it bounced back off of Anko's stomach leaving the girl gasping for air as he had winded her with his strike.

Anko was quick to recover however as she quickly jumped to her feet while pulling out another kunai in order to block Iruka's next strike as a mad grin crossed her lips which frightened the boy a little but quickly got over it as he blocked her kunai with his nun chucks before an unorthodox plan entered his head. This in turn meant Iruka was now sporting a mad grin of his own which only seemed to excite the girl in front of him as she went to stab him with her kunai once more. He quickly put his plan into action however as he wrapped his nun chucks around her kunai as he redirected it before he pulled her closer and with a mad grin slammed his head forward into Anko's causing a look of surprise to take over as she was head butted by the scar faced boy. He quickly followed this up by once again sweeping her legs from under her as he swung his nun chucks down. When the dust cloud had disappeared Anko was shocked to see his nun chuck had slammed into the ground mere centre metres away from her face and had cracked the ground slightly which just proved that she wouldn't have survived a direct blow with no defence.

Iruka then stood up cockily as he was more than pleased with his performance before he quickly regretted the motion as he suddenly found himself on the ground with a kunai at his throat though when he looked down he blushed at the position Anko was in. Anko was now straddled on his waist while she was bent over slightly so she could reach her neck which only showed Iruka more of the girl's cleavage. Anko noticed this and grinned as she took her kunai off his throat and quickly transferred it to his cheek where she cut him slightly while drawing blood. Then something happened that would always be with Iruka in his dreams as she slowly and sensually licked the blood off his cheek with a moan as she spoke out

"With blood as tasty as this I might have to go out with you… tell you what if you grow stronger than me and can beat me in an all-out fight then I'll go out with you ok". Iruka just nodded his head in reply and after she got off him he just seemed to robotically move to the next test with a glazed look in his eyes which caused the blood lover to giggle quietly before she moved on to the next student. Iruka finally broke out of his daze when he reached the final test which was Ninjutsu section.

The proctor just looked at Iruka weirdly as he saw the boy brake out of his glazed state before he remembered who the weapons examiner was and nodded his head in understanding before he asked the boy to perform the required three jutsu in order to pass the ninjutsu part of the exam. The man was pleased when the boy in front of him performed all three without the use of hand signs or the name of the technique showing that he had completely mastered all three E-rank jutsu. The man then asked if the boy had learned anything other than the academy three and was surprised when the orphaned boy nodded his head and showed the proctor that alongside the academy three the boy had also mastered the D-rank jutsu called the Kage shuriken no jutsu. This meant that Iruka would receive extra points along with the fact that he had mastered all four jutsu shown to the proctor.

The proctor then told Iruka to come back after lunch to get the results and find out where he ended up in the class. With that in mind Iruka left the academy and returned home to grab some lunch while he wondered where he ended up while secretly hoping he topped the class.

STORY END

Well that's done

Thanks for reading and remember to **R&R.**


	5. Team formations

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

Chapter 5: Team formations

STORY START

After a quick lunch at home Iruka quickly returned to the academy to find the exam just finishing with the last few students walking out of the academy. Figuring he still had a while before the results came out he decided to head over to training ground 43 to do some… well training. Iruka figured he at least had an hour before the results were finished so with that in mind he opened up the book his parents had made (he had sealed it along with a certain photo a while back after he first learnt how to seal and kept it on him at all times) and began looking for something that interested him.

It was twenty minutes later when Iruka came across something that piqued his interest. The area of Iruka's interest was called barrier ninjutsu and there was two in particular that Iruka found himself fascinated by but there was just one problem… both of them were B-ranked jutsu and Iruka wasn't even a genin yet. These jutsu were called Fubaku Hojin and Kekkai Hojin. The two jutsu were very similar and it was only the trigger and circumstance in which it is used that set the two apart. Iruka knew that if he learnt these two jutsu that they would be his ace in the hole for quite some time but by doing so the boy would be going against his old man's wishes as instead of mastering the basics first he would be jumping an entire rank. It was only the memory of something his dad had told him when he was ten years old and not to long before the Kyuubi attacked. Iruka's dad had told him 'Son, I know I talk a lot about mastering basics first but sometime in your life you will find something that sparks your interest and when you do then you must follow through and make what interests you yours just like I did'. It was those words and those words alone that made up Iruka's mind as he made the decision that would one day change the world… Iruka decided to learn and make Barrier ninjutsu his own.

After another forty minutes had passed Iruka decided to drop what he was learning and head back to the academy in order to look at the results of the exam.

When he got there he saw that most students had already arrived and were seated and awaiting their own result. Iruka was once again bombarded with insult but like the other times this had happened today he had just tuned them all out as he took a seat near the back next to one of the few people that didn't bother him, her name was Sumire Nara and she was the cousin of the baby heir to the Nara clan. Iruka secretly wondered how a person could sleep so much and yet be as smart as this girl was but he guessed it ran in the family. Iruka had been sitting down for another ten minutes before the instructor came in along with the last few stragglers.

"Alright, now that everyone is here I will announce the top three in all four tests before I tell you the overall ranking of every student including the ones who have failed" He let that hang in the air for a little bit before he moved on to telling the kids their results. He first gave out the top three students in the written exam section.

3rd – Iruka Umino with 91%

2nd – Hanare Yamanaka with 94%

1st – Sumire Nara with 99%

The whole class was surprised at the fact that Iruka had gotten third place however that surprise was toppled by the knowledge that a Nara actually tried to do well and so insults were few. Still the word cheater seemed to float around the room before it stopped as the student listened in to see who was in the top three in taijutsu.

3rd – Kotetsu Hagane

2nd – Iruka Umino

1st – Rinji Inuzuka

Words such as 'cheat' were once again heard throughout the classroom at the mention of Iruka's name but after a stern glare from teacher it all stopped and the teacher then read out the top three in weapons and ninjutsu in quick concession in order to get it over with.

3rd in weapons – Kotetsu Hagane

2nd – Izumo Kamizuki

1st – Iruka Umino

3rd in ninjutsu – Hanare Yamanaka

2nd – Sumire Nara

1st - Iruka Umino

The students were in sudden uproar as they were all yelling about how the 'dunce' of the class had gotten two first places, a second and a third. This ended however when Iruka stood up and reminded them all how a chunin instructor could not be deceived by a civilian. The instructor thanked the boy before he read out the overall ranking with a total of ten out of the twenty five students failing… how that was even possible was a loss to Iruka. The top six consisting of;

6th – Rinji Inuzuka

5th – Kotetsu Hagane

4th – Izumo Kamizuki

3rd – Hanare Yamanaka

2nd – Sumire Nara

1st – Iruka Umino

Iruka gained a happy smile across his face as he was told he was rookie of the year… but then again there wasn't much competition what with their only being three clan members in the whole class. Still it was an achievement and the boy was proud of it. The instructor then told the class that those who passed were to come back to the academy in a week's time in order to find out who their team was going to be. Iruka was a little sad that he would have to wait so long until he got his team and sensei but it did mean that he had time to work on his barrier ninjutsu a bit as well as meet this 'Guy' that his dad had mentioned and ask if he could help him with his weapons style. With that in mind Iruka headed home as he had done enough today and he would begin training again the next day.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as Iruka had woken up he was getting ready for his morning warm up only this time Iruka wouldn't be the only one running around the village. Half way through his fifth lap Iruka heard the first signs of madness

"WELL HELLO MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND, WOULD YOU MIND IF I REKINDLE MY FLAMES ALONGSIDE YOU" a voice projected at Iruka that made him turn his head slightly to the left to see who was shouting like a lunatic before he saw the second stage of madness in the form of a green spandex full body suit the guy was wearing. Iruka was so taken by the guys appearance he didn't take any notice of the bill board on the top of the next building and slammed straight into it and as he fell back he swore he heard the strange man ask himself why this always seemed to happen when he meet a stranger. Iruka quickly got back on his feet and sighed and decided to let fate be a bitch as he didn't see any way out of talking with the madman in front of him. Turned out the guy's name was Guy which reminded Iruka of … the guy he… was supposed to find. Iruka paled as he realised that this man was the guy he was looking for but his colour soon returned as his determination to get strong came out on top.

When Iruka told the man his name he was practically bursting and when Iruka finally asked the guy whether or not he could train him in his father's weapons style the man really did burst before he nodded his head before yelling to the heavens about how youthful there meeting had been before he left after telling Iruka to meet him every morning at six am in training ground 9 for training in his father's style.

From that day forth the week before the team selection ceremony took place Iruka had been meeting Guy every morning and was improving greatly with the help of the jonin level shinobi who had told the boy he was at mid to high genin level for now. Other than that Iruka had pretty much been doing his weekend training every day except Iruka had added an hour of studying straight barrier ninjutsu which he was quickly progressing on and the more he did so the more he interested he seemed to become and by the end of the week Iruka could perform a successful Fubaku Hojin jutsu which he was incredibly proud of as he now had a b-ranked jutsu in his arsenal but he wanted to completely master this jutsu before he moved on to the other b-ranked jutsu he wanted to learn.

Aside from that Iruka had achieved in but not yet mastered Kori Shinchu no jutsu which is a genjutsu that traps an opponent in an endless circle while they think they are getting closer to their goal. He had also started learning how to walk on water but so far he hadn't progressed much.

When the week ended Iruka was buzzed as he would finally find out who was in his team and what kind of sensei he had. As Iruka arrived he noticed that all 14 of the other student that passed had already arrived and were talking amongst themselves and while some glared at the scar faced boy as he came I most just didn't bother to look up from what they were doing and that was just fine with Iruka as he didn't much care for what they thought of him anyway. Iruka then took a seat next to the Nara girl again before he leaned back on his chair and waited for there soon to be x-teacher to show up.

A couple minutes later the chunin came in with a sheet of paper in hand but before he read the names out he began his long winded speech about the pride he felt for having such great students and told us to make sure we took being a ninja seriously or else we would be sure to die young not that anyone was listening. Ten more gruelling minutes later and the teacher finally finished his prideful speech and told the student that after the students got their teams then they would also be told where to meet their new mysterious sensei.

"Teams one through four are currently in circulation so team 5 will consist of Rinji Inuzuka, Hanare Yamanaka and Sumire Nara" said the proctor as a groan came from most of the boys in the class at missing out at being on the two hottest girls team which was silenced by the glare of every other girl in the room while the Yamanaka just smirked and the Nara… was still asleep.

"You will meet your new sensei on the roof in 10 minutes time" the proctor finished as the three students got up and went to the roof.

"Team 6 will consist of Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki and… Iruka Umino and you will be meeting your new sensei at training ground 6 in an hour". Iruka smiled slightly as he knew that these two would at least keep things interesting while the other two boys of team 6 were smirking at each other as they were happy to be on the same team as the rookie of the year as well as someone who they already have blackmail on.

The three then walked out of the academy and having nothing better to do kept walking as a team until they reached training ground 6 where they took in the terrain. Training ground six was one of the largest training grounds and had a small river running right through the middle of it with open fields on both side for about 100 metres before it turned into a heavily compact forest which stretched on farther than any of the three boys could see. The boys then split up and did their own things as Kotetsu and Izumo pulled out what looked like a black book and began looking through it with smirks on their faces. When Iruka managed to get a look at the title of said book and sweat dropped as he noticed it said 'The Blackmail Book' as he just hopped that he didn't have his name in there.

Iruka himself went over and sat on the edge of the clearing with his back against a tree before he pulled out a book on Barrier ninjutsu that he had acquired from the ninja library before he started reading from where he finished last time. Through his studies Iruka had found out many new things so far such as the different kind of barrier ninjutsu, while one is used for capture and arrest another is used for straight up killing the target. He also learnt about the different uses that a barrier ninjutsu had as some were better in certain situations compared to others. Like his Fubaku Hojin which is a capture and arrest jutsu that would stun the enemy making it easy for a comrade to swoop in and arrest. This particular jutsu is best in an open fight where you are trying to arrest a villain (AN: think when Iruka uses this against Mizuki in the Mizuki strikes back arc) as well as serving as a good distraction if and when you needed to escape an enemy of greater power.

The hour came and went quickly for Iruka but when it did he was left confused as to why his Sensei hadn't arrived yet. After waiting for another half an hour Iruka was starting to get a little pissed but quickly calmed down as he argued that he may as well do some physical training and so he walked a few metres away from where he had been sitting and began to get warmed up. After that was done he began stretching but before he could finish he noticed both of his new team members 'That actually bothered to turn up' were coming toward him.

"What are you doing" asked Kotetsu. Iruka gave a quick reply by saying that he was stretching which the two other boys had already noticed but felt they needed to ask such a question before they asked

"Why?" The simple question had come from Izumo this time as he was wondering why he would be stretching when they were meant to be waiting for their sensei. Iruka thought about how he should answer for a few minutes as he finished stretching before he answered

"Why should I waste my time waiting for a late sensei when I could be using this time to better myself?" in the form of a question. Kotetsu and Izumo just looked at each other for a while until they both smirked and asked Iruka if they could join in to which the scar faced boy agreed 'after all we are in the same team' were the thoughts of one Iruka Umino. After Kotetsu and Izumo had got warmed up the boys decided to take turns at one on one no rules spars with the winner getting bragging rights.

This kicked off with the two brothers in all but blood which gave Iruka the advantage as he only had to compete in one match and his opponent would be tired from his earlier fight. It also meant that Iruka got to see his new teammate's skills as he didn't know much about them other than they were orphans like him and they got their money through 'dirty' pictures and possibly blackmail.

The two boys quickly got into their own unique stances that Iruka had never seen or heard of before. Iruka was surprised again when he saw the two identically pulsed slightly as Iruka's first thought was that they had enhanced themselves with the use of chakra. That was proven wrong however as the two now each held their own Kunai blades before they began to charge at one another until a clash was heard as the two boys meet half way and a test of strength pursued. Kotetsu won and Izumo was forced onto the defensive as the boy grit his teeth in frustration before he jumped backwards in order to gain some room. Izumo then began to charge once more but this time seemed to be going at full speed which caused Kotetsu to put up a defensive stance as he knew what was coming and he wasn't looking forward to it as Izumo was the better of the two with a weapon for a reason.

As Izumo came upon Kotetsu he muttered the name of his technique in a voice so quiet that Iruka had to strain his ears in order for him to hear. 'Rifusutairu no nito' was the techniques name and Iruka was amazed as he could have sworn Izumo's sword became two for just a second before Izumo was suddenly behind Kotetsu with a smirk on his face as he always did when he won against his 'brother' with that move. Kotetsu just stood there wondering if Izumo had somehow missed, that is until he felt a wind touch his… bare skinned legs. Kotetsu quickly looked down and found that his pants had been cut so that they would fall down and he was honestly just happy that Izumo hadn't cut any further. That is until he heard the unmistakable laugh of his best friend and Kotetsu quickly turned from a friendly guy to one that was pissed as he did NOT like being laughed at and so he quickly pulled his tattered pants off before he performed his own jutsu while calling out its name 'Kanashibari no jutsu'. The laughing Izumo was invisible restrained as Kotetsu pulled out a marker and quickly write 'pervert' on his 'friends' forehead before he fell over laughing… at least until the jutsu wore off. When that happened all hell broke loose as the two 'brothers' were up in arms and fighting again only this time much more seriously. Iruka just sweat dropped at the scene but before he could jump in and save the two idiots from themselves a swirl of leaves appeared in between the two boys signifying the use of a Shunshin no jutsu as a man appeared holding the two 'brothers' by their scruffs.

Once the man came into full view Iruka made sure to take in his appearance. The man had long dull dark-grey hair held in a ponytail. He also had a scar running down the right side of his mouth and pronounced tear troughs under his eyes. He was wearing the standard Konoha shinobi outfit, although his uniform was short sleeved. The traditional red swirl pattern could be seen on the man's left shoulder sleeve. The man also wore a pair of fingerless gloves and carries a thin katana strapped horizontally to his back.

"Team 6, I am your new sensei" the man spoke in a calm manner before he set the two boys down before he motioned for them to follow him to a tree by the side of the clearing. Once they reached the tree all four sat down in a kind of square formation before Kotetsu finally worked up some nerve and muttered

"How come it took you so long to get here" to which his only response was a blank look before the mysterious man in front of the boys replied saying

"What do you mean young one, I have been here ever since you arrived" this only served to confuse the trio more. Iruka then wondered why the man hadn't shown himself if he had been there the whole time.

"Because my boy, I was evaluating you to see if you were good enough for me to bother teaching and I am pleased to say that you are" at the questioning glance that his new student gave him the man continued by saying

"Usually a new Sensei is to take you on a test to see how well you will work as a team but I don't believe in that method because you can still pass with grudges between the ninja inside of the team. Grudges is a word that does not belong in the dictionary of a shinobi as it will only bring negative emotions and that is something that will only get you killed. So instead of testing you I have been observing you and can safely say that you three will work great as a team… after a little disciplining of coarse" while saying the last part he looked at the two 'brothers' in particular which caused the two boys to shrink away as Iruka just smirked.

"Now we will introduce ourselves… I will start, I am Hayama Shirakumo and my likes are my friends and kenjutsu, my hates are traitors and law breakers. My hobbies include Kenjutsu and the wind. My dream for the future is to guide you three boys as you become shinobi I can brag to my friends about" The now named Hayama stated with a smile on his face before he pointed to Izumo who got the hint and began his own introduction.

"Hi my name is Izumo Kamizuki and my likes consist of Kenjutsu, ninjutsu, pranks… and cleanliness. My hates are those stingy people who try to get me in trouble after I perform a prank. My hobbies are Pranks, Kenjutsu and training in ninjutsu. My dream is to become a well-known shinobi before I settle down" Hayama nodded in acceptance before he motion for Kotetsu to introduce himself next.

"My name is Kotetsu and I like my friends, taijutsu, kenjutsu, pranks and anything that interests me. My hates are the same as Izumo and my hobbies consist of pranks, taijutsu and kenjutsu. My dream is to one day surpass a guy by the name of Asuma Sarutobi before I settle down and retire" The rest of the group were surprised at Kotetsu's dream except Izumo who knew why that was. Hayama took on a thoughtful look before he nodded his head and told Kotetsu that he would do his best to get the boy to that level which pleased the boy greatly. Hayama then motioned for Iruka to finish up and so he did.

"My name is Iruka Umino and my likes are barrier ninjutsu, my nun chucks, sables, taijutsu and those I deem precious. My hates are sell-outs and people who would sooner save their own skin instead of another's. My hobbies are training, hunting, and the occasional prank. My dream is to make a name for myself and protect those precious to me" Iruka finished with Izumo and Kotetsu still wondering what barrier ninjutsu was but Hayama just nodded his head in acceptance before he turned to face everyone in his team and congratulated them on becoming genin and gave all three of them their headbands that the three had conveniently forgot about altogether. He then left telling his new team to meet him at the same place at 6am the next morning and to be properly prepared.

'And so it begins' thought Iruka as he wondered back home for some dinner and rest.

STORY END

OC CHARACTERS:

- Riji Inuzuka

- Sumire Nara

- Hanare Yamanaka

All three characters will have somewhat significant roles as I need more than one team coming out of the academy so I created another one entirely from scratch and already know who and when they are going to impact 'hint, hint'.

Kekkai Hōjin - An array of four explosive tags are jointly placed around the boundary of an area. If anyone or anything happens to walk through the boundary, the seals will detonate when the intruder reaches the centre, killing the imprisoned target.

Fūbaku Hōjin - An array of exploding tags are placed around an area that can be detonated with a hand seal and should their opponent attempt to move, the tags explode. Since the target is unable to move a team-mate will then be able to attack them with no problem. The tags can be shut off by the controller.

Kori Shinchū no Jutsu - This technique allows the user to change the enemy's sense of direction as they see fit. When this technique was evoked, the enemy was forced to walk around continuously in circles by making it seem as if they're walking straight to their desired destination.

**_Kunai Blades - _**These are kunai-like blades. They have the general appearance of kunai with similar bases, but the blades instead are curved, elongated and single-edged, giving them similar appearance and function to swords. Each of the blades has a small whole right near its long, bandaged hilt, which at its edge sports larger versions of the standard ring all kunai have.

'Rifusutairu no nito' – Is a technique that I made up for Izumo to use and is a technique that allows the user to cast an illusionary second sword which Izumo uses to his full advantage but it isn't a very high level move and because of this most chunin and above would be able to stop it.

Kanashibari no jutsu – It is a technique that physically restrains an opponent, as if the opponent had been tied in invisible steel ropes. It debilitates the victim for a short period of time, which allows the user to either strike again, or take the target into custody. This is a D-rank ninjutsu where the intensity will vary greatly according to the user's level of skill. The technique can also be cast on every target at once, depending on the user's skill, and won't fail a shinobi during their missions.

Shunshin no Jutsu - The **Body Flicker Technique** is a high-speed movement technique, allowing a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed. To an observer, it appears as if the user has teleported.

Thanks for reading and remember to R&R


	6. sticky death

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

Chapter 5: Team formations

STORY START

Iruka woke up at 5:30 in the morning and was quick to get ready to meet his new team at training ground 6 to see what his new sensei would be teaching them. He made shore to pack everything before he left for his new training grounds. When he arrived he was five minutes early and was delighted to see that his sensei had shown up on time and he wasn't lying about yesterday… well probably anyway. Iruka began to warm up as he waited for the other two members of his team to arrive and four minutes later they both did as they seemed to stumble out into the clearing while looking a little tired from both being up so early and sprinting from the orphanage which was on the other side of the village to here.

When the two had finally gathered their breath the three of them were called over to their new sensei Hayama. He began by telling them that he had almost made their regime but needed to know one more thing before he could as depending on the differing result the outcome in their individual training which served to intrigue the boy's as they wondered just what he was talking about. Turns out he had been talking about what their individual chakra nature was before explaining that he himself was a wind user which apparently was very rare outside of Sunagakure or at least that was what their sensei told them. Hayama then went on to saying how being in Konoha most people had a fire affinity, he also said that water and earth was also reasonably common in their village with Lightning and wind being rare while wind remained the rarest.

Hayama then gave each boy a piece of paper and told them all to put a little chakra into it. He then stated that if it turned into ash you were a fire type, drenched paper for water, turn into dirt for earth, crumple up for lightning and finally be cut in half as he demonstrated if you were a wind type. Wanting to know what his affinity was as the boy let his curiosity get the better of him, Kotetsu put Chakra through his piece of paper and was surprised to see it crumple up signifying he had a lightning affinity. Izumo was next as he surged his chakra through the chakra paper and noticed it went soggy in his hands signifying that he had a water affinity. Last to find out was Iruka as he calmly put his chakra through his paper although on the inside he was bursting with excitement as he wondered what his affinity was. As he applied his chakra to the paper he noticed it turned into dirt signifying that he had an earth affinity.

A sigh was heard as all three students now looked up to their sensei who had sighed and noticed with confusion that he was slightly peeved and when Izumo asked why their sensei stated that it was annoying that his three students should all have different affinities and none of those being fire or wind though he wasn't really surprised at the last one. This would make it harder for Hayama but he would make it work. Their sensei then told the trio that they would now take their first D-rank mission and after that he should be done with their regimens and so they all set off for the Hokage tower where they would receive their first mission.

When they got there they were directed through to the Hokage office where they found the old man begrudgingly doing his paperwork before the Hokage brightened up considerably as he noticed the distraction that he had been waiting for and with that he leaned back in his chair before he looked through the D-rank mission after being requested by Hayama and laughed to himself as he went through and saw the types of missions that the genins would be doing for at least a month before they moved on to C-ranks. He then came across one he thought would ease the boys in front of him into what D-ranks truly were… chores.

When the team got their first mission it had been a real buzz kill as dreams of saving a damsel in distress quickly turned into cleaning up someone's trash. That was literally what the boys were doing as they had been left at the park by their sensei and ordered to clean it up before he returned with their group and individual regimens. It was almost lunch by the time they had finished and when they finally had done they noticed that their sensei was waiting for them. They quickly returned their mission completed and received their pay before they decided to head out to lunch as a team.

Team 6 had a quick lunch at a restaurant Iruka remembered was called the 'Autumn Leaf' where he had ordered some Yakitori as a treat which was something his team took notice to as he seemed to devour one after the other as he worked up quite the bill. After that the team returned to training ground 6 in order to get their new regimens.

When they each got their own regimens they found that for the most part they would be training together as they would start early in the morning where they would practice their own taijutsu styles. They would then move onto the weapons of their choice before they would finish off the morning by learning how to make and get around traps or in Iruka's case practice barrier ninjutsu as well. After lunch they would do a quick D-rank which earned groan from all three students before they read on and found out that they would then work on chakra control and their chakra nature before they would rap it all up by finishing with an all-out spar.

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Two months had gone by and team 6 was slowly becoming stronger as the trio had grown from being at low genin level to mid to high level genin as they each progressed in their own areas.

For Izumo, he had grown particularly in his water manipulation and kenjutsu. The boy was currently working on combining the two but was having limited success however as separate areas the boy was somewhere in between high genin and low chunin level with both. Izumo had also increased other areas such as traps and taijutsu but they had not advanced to the same level as his kenjutsu or water manipulation. During the two months Izumo had also learnt a number of jutsu such as Mizu bunshin no jutsu, Suiton: Teppodama and his personal favourite Suiton: Mizuame nabara. Izumo was now working towards his first B-rank jutsu which would grant him a defensive move called Suiton: Suijinheki.

Kotetsu had grown the most in his Kenjutsu and Taijutsu. The boys Kenjutsu being at the same level as Izumo until he used his Rifusutairu no nito technique although he had been coming close to blocking the move several times. His Taijutsu had improved the most though as the boy now used a style called Hyo no ikari or Leopards rage which is a largely offensive style which consists of powerful and fast flowing punches and kicks which attack in a slashing manor similar to that of a leopards claws. Kotetsu can now run a thin line of electricity through his sword thanks to him being almost finished with the first out of the two exercises for his lightning control. Alongside this he had also achieved a lightning jutsu called Raiton: Gian which is a B-ranked ninjutsu but with such limited lightning jutsu in the leaf it was hard for Hayama to find any easier. Kotetsu had also improved on his trap making ability but it was not to the extent of other areas he had been working on.

As for Iruka, the boy's biggest improvement was his barrier ninjutsu with his nun chucks style and earth manipulation coming in a close second equal. When Iruka asked his sensei if there were any jutsu that combined his earth nature with barrier ninjutsu the man gave the boy a jutsu called Doton Kekkai: Doro Domu (AN: it's the one Jirobi or whatever his name was uses to trap the group of genin and one chunin in the Sasuke retrieval arc) Which Iruka had mastered but when the boy had asked if there were any more his sensei just shook his head 'no'. When Hayama saw the defeated look in his students eyes he quickly told the boy that if he truly did want to make barrier ninjutsu his own then he would have to make his own up one day, why not get started now. And so Iruka began trying to make his very own barrier ninjutsu but so far hadn't been successful. Iruka had also managed to master Doton: Ganchuso and Doton: Doryuheki and had been using the two as a base for his first barrier ninjutsu. His training sessions with Guy had stayed the same and Iruka was slowy becoming a formidable foe or at least that's what Guy seemed to be constantly shouting to anyone who would listen to him go on about his first student.

Hayame was proud of the advancements in his students, so much in fact that he had told the trio that today would be there first C-rank mission which actually caused tears of happiness to form on the face of all three boys as they finally got to do something a ninja would actually do. However what Hayama had in mind for the trio was anything but a blessing as he planned to show the boys the darker side of a ninja's life and what it meant to truly take another's life.

When team 6 managed to get their mission they headed off to what would be one of the most traumatic experiences that any of the boys will ever come across. Their mission was to take out a bandit camp that had been harassing a town not too far away from Konoha in the land of fire. It took team 6 a total of seven hours to get there and when they did it was about midday.

Hayama stopped his team just inside the forest where they could not be seen before he spoke "Okay here's the plan, I am going to go to see the mayor of this town to see what information he has on the bandit group. While I do this I want Izumo and Kotetsu to henge and talk to people from around the town while you make sure not to be noticed by any bandits that may be lurking. You two will report back to the hotel at 5pm and if you are any later than 5 minutes past that we will assume the worst and decide what to do from there." He paused and the two boys took that as their time to leave and nodded their heads in understand before henging and taking off towards the village. Once the two had left the man began to talk to Iruka.

"Iruka I want you to henge and book the hotel for us tonight before you also head out to gather info on our target. Don't be late" Hayama finished before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Iruka just blinked a couple times as he thought 'I have really got to learn that' before the boy henged and headed towards the road before he dropped down after not sensing anyone near him. That was another thing Iruka had been able to figure out over the last two months as he finally understood that he had what was known as sensor ability. When Iruka had first told his sensei about what happened when he meditated the man had only looked back at him intrigued and it did not take him long to find out that Iruka had a censoring ability that kind of worked like echo location. Hayama had laughed as he told Iruka that last part as it seemed he was named 'Sea Dolphin' for a reason. While Iruka remained embarrassed by that fact he still thought how lucky he was and knew that if he continued to work at it he could use it to his advantage on the battle field. When Iruka landed on the road he quickly turned and headed for the village to properly begin his mission.

When he arrived he first headed straight for the hotel that they had previously decided on and asked the receptionist for the room that had been given to them by the mayor which came with the request. Once that was done Iruka quickly went up to the room that team 6 would be staying in and set it up so that when everyone arrived later it would already fit their needs. When Iruka had finished that he quickly headed out in search for a restaurant as it was always a good place to get information from… and it was lunch time and he was feeling a little hungry.

Iruka finally found a place called Red Dragon and was quickly given a table and asked for his order. Iruka decided on having Tempura and some water before he sat back and listened in to the conversations happening around him and wasn't too surprised when he found that most of the conversations where about the bandits that had recently taken refuge just outside the towns borders. The men seemed to want to do something before the bandits did anything as they had heard stories about another town a few years ago who had been in the same position and done nothing. Apparently this other town had suffered dearly as it was taken by the bandits who then killed the men before taking the woman and selling them off to the slave market. The woman seemed to agree with the men in that regard as they certainly did not want to end up in the same situation.

After Iruka had finished his meal he left with knowledge that he had received from the locals before he headed off once more in order to find some more direct info on the bandits. After being unsuccessful for the majority of the afternoon Iruka finally had a breakthrough as he listened in to two people who were clearly part of the bandit group. As they talked Iruka got more and more disgusted as he could not believe that the two men would talk about raping woman so casually like it was an everyday occurrence in their lives and he was glad that those men would soon die. From these two bandits he was able to retrieve the exact location of their base which completely amazed the scare faced boy once again as it seemed the two were so cocky and stupid as to blurt out the location of their base to anyone who was listening. When the time hit 4:50pm the bandit both started to head back to their base but not before ogling a few woman and making a few gestures that made the woman shiver in disgust as the men beside them took on angry looks and looked to be holding themselves back from smashing the pair of rapists.

Soon after that Iruka headed back to the hotel and was not surprised to see his sensei sitting standing outside the door while waiting for him to return. After a few minute there was a knock on the door before Izumo and Kotetsu were let in. After they all sat done Hayama instantly put on a serious face before asking the boys for status reports.

Izumo and Kotetsu went first as they began by telling them all the stories that they had heard from the villages however the boys had been unable to get any more information than that. When Iruka said his part he mentioned how he too had heard the stories of the villager before he moved on and began telling the rest of his team about his encounter with the bandits at the bar with a scowl on his face as he mentioned the majority of what the two had been talking about. When he had finished Iruka saw his sensei look directly at him before he stated in a serious tone.

"While you got the right location off of the two bandits you must remember that even a lowly bandit has some sort of a brain and will sometimes youse it to either slow you down or lead you into a trap" He then turned and faced everyone again before he went on to tell his team how his plan for tonight.

"We will attack the bandit camp tonight under the cover of darkness. I will tell you right now that unless a ninja is also in the group I will not assist in this take down unless one of you is in mortal danger. Since it is your first mission like this I will be watching from the outskirts of the camp and will take care of any bandits that get away. There are a total of 30 bandits in this camp. I will leave the plan of action up to you now get some rest as you'll definitely need it for what your about to do." Hayama said this all with a steely look that slightly unnerved the trio before they went to bed to rest before they made their move later that night.

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When the clock struck 11pm Hayama decided to wake the boys up before he told them each to get ready. The boys soon did exactly that as all three were soon dressed in nothing but black. They soon set out and it only took the trio thirty minutes to find the camp before the boys backed away from there now confirmed target to make their plan. When they had decided on an acceptable plan they went ahead and started it knowing that their sensei was watching.

Iruka took a deep breath as he thought about the things he was about to commit as he steeled his features. Iruka would be the heavy hitter distraction in this fight as he attacked from the front allowing his two teammates to flank the camp and take them from behind. Iruka breathed deeply once more as he saw both Izumo and Kotetsu give him the signal that they were ready before he took off his headband and put into one of his empty pockets. Iruka then hopped down from his position before he yelled as loud as he could

"HEY ASSWIPES, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY TOWN AND HAVE YOUR GAY ORGY SOMEWHERE ELSE" This got an immediate reply from the now awoken bandits who took on a pissed off look before several of them including the guards who were already awake head over to where the young boy was heard cursing them. Once they got into a position where they could see the boy they noticed he didn't have a headband so pegged him as a wannabe and began taunting the boy by saying things like 'why don't you run home back to your mommy and suck her tity before I do' or 'why don't you come over here so I can gut you like a fish'. All and all this only proved to piss off Iruka more as he waited for the group of 8 in front of him to come closer. When the front of the group was 5 metres away from the boy they saw him smirk which only served to confuse them before the boy quickly took out his headband and tied it to his head. Before any of the bandits could saw anything the boy purposely shouted out the name of his technique **Doton Kekkai: Doro Domu. **The eight stunned bandits were now even more shocked as they were surrounded by a dome of rock. Iruka grimaced as he knew which technique was coming next and he knew it would be the one to end the lives of eight people even if they all were bastards who deserved to die.

**Doton: Ganchuso **Iruka yelled in anguish as spikes of rock rose up from the ground underneath the captured bandits while killing them all instantly. When Iruka released his first jutsu he quickly turned his head away as tears began to unconsciously flow down his face as Iruka thought to himself 'I am a monster'. The scene in front of Iruka was not a pretty one as eight people were skewered by the rock Iruka had sent at them. Iruka quickly pulled himself together while telling himself that he was a man and men don't cry. He then signalled Izumo and Kotetsu to start the charge as he saw the rest of the camp get up after his yelling of Jutsu.

Team 6 charged in together from all sides as they attacked the unorganised bandits with jutsu and weapon as Kotetsu and Izumo sliced their enemies with their kunai blades as Iruka caved in their skulls as he hit them with his nun chucks. It took all but 5 minute for the boys to wrap up their massacre or at least that's how they viewed it. The boys then all meet in the centre of the camp as each one now had tears freely flowing down their faces as they waited for their sensei. The trio was instantly put on guard however as they all heard clapping coming from the front of the camp where Iruka had made his first move.

When they looked over they saw a boy who looked to be around 14 years of age who they did not recognise. They then all looked at his forehead and saw he was a ninja but what struck the trio of genin was that it was a Iwa headband but it had a cross running through it. The boys then quickly looked for their sensei as he said he would jump in if something like this happened but they couldn't find him anywhere.

"If you're looking for your sensei then he's probably already dead as he was facing my master… Now time to die Konoha scum" The mysterious man said while yelling out the last part. While the group of genin were surprised they did not just stand there and wait to be killed as they too charged into the fray. While Iruka attacked from the front the Kotetsu and Izumo both came in from the sides but they were all easily taken care of the man who showed the skills of being at least a chunin. The trio quickly got back up however as they now each pulled out their individual weapons before they heard a laugh come from the one time Iwa chunin as he yelled out

"You call those puny things a weapon… This is a weapon" and as he finished what he was saying he pulled out a weapon that had all three genins jaws on the floor. The weapon that the Iwa missing Nin had was the strangest weapon any of them had ever seen. It was a mace but that was just about were the normal part of the weapon ended. The mace resembled a conch shell as a number of sharp protrusions were all over its surface and it had a marking in the centre that resembled an eye. Its hilt was wrapped in bandages and it had a chain which seemed to connect the mace to the base of the hilt.

The genin only became more awed and surprised as he threw the weapon at them but what had them questioning their sanity was the fact that the weapon suddenly grew wings and fucking flew. 'Da fuck' was the thought of all three of the genin as they all barely managed to dodge the mace type weapon. They were all once again surprised once they sensed that it had curved round and was now coming at them from behind. They were all forced to dodge again before the missing Nin caught the maces hilt in his hand before he smirked at the three before he charged at them once more as a battle of kenjutsu broke out.

The fight was fairly even but you could tell that the missing Nin was slowly over powering the konoha genin as they all fought to the death. That was until Iruka suddenly had an idea pop into his head and put all his might into kicking the missing Nin away and even though the boy blocked it he was still sent back a few metres before Iruka made a signal to Kotetsu and Izumo to drop back. Once the three genin had jumped back far enough Iruka told them in a soft whisper so that the missing Nin couldn't hear him.

"Sticky death" Iruka finished as all he got in response from Izumo and Kotetsu were smirks as they got ready to go through with Iruka's plan. Izumo quickly made a water clone before substituting with it to confuse the opponent on which was which before Iruka, Kotetsu and Izumo's water clone charged with their weapons held at the ready while the real Izumo shot up the rear. The front three quickly engaged with the missing Nin before after half a minute of duelling Iruka and Kotetsu both jumped away while leaving the water clone that was quickly dealt with by the missing Nin. Before the missing Nin could do anything more Izumo suddenly called out his favourite jutsu **Suiton: Mizuame nabara.** Soon after the missing Nin was trapped in a sea of a strange sticky substance and before he could think of a way to get out of it he heard Kotetsu say something that almost made him shit himself.

**"Raiton: Gian"** was Kotetsu's words as a bolt of lightning was shot into the sticky liquid surrounding him while frying him where he stood. Iruka soon followed after as he skewered the missing Nin with an earth spike through the heart to make sure he was dead while showing his mastery by not having to use any hand seals or even say the name of his jutsu. Once it was over all three of the genin slumped to the ground as they all passed out from exhaustion.

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When Iruka woke up he was shocked to see a roof over his head as he began to remember what happened last night. As he remembered he noticed that silent tears seemed to roll down his face as he once again thought 'I am a monster'. Iruka was quite literally shaken out of his thoughts by his sensei as the man pulled him into a hug with a look of concern on his face. After a few minutes Iruka began to calm down and Hayama let go of him before he told the boy to follow him into the lounge. When Iruka arrived he noticed that both Izumo and Kotetsu were up already and both had similar expressions to his own. Once everyone was seated Hayama gained a hardened look but if you looked closely you could still see the guilt and concern the man had over what happened the night before.

"You are not monsters" Hayama stated simply as he remembered what he felt like after his first kill.

"The life of a shinobi is no walk in the park and sometimes in order to save someone precious to us we must take away someone else's. This will never get easier it will only dull and the feelings you have now are what prove that you are human for without these emotions we are all but monsters in human skin. The day that you do not fell these emotions to at least some degree is the day that you have truly become a monster and that day my students, is not today." The three genin looked up at the man stunned at what he said as it seemed as though he knew their exact thoughts. Eventually the three nodded to their sensei in sync which under any other circumstance would have caused the man to laugh. After the boys got over there awe at their sensei's words Kotetsu asked a question that had been on all three of their minds.

"So what happened in your fight?" to which their sensei merely looked at them before he put two separate scrolls on the table as he said

"Well obviously I killed him but as you know it took me awhile but I came out of it relatively unscathed… although I can't really say the same for him" while saying the last part he pointed to one of the scrolls. Hayama then pulled out another scroll before he unsealed the odd mace that the chunin level Nin had been wielding the night before.

"Sooo…. Who wants it?" Hayama asked as the three boys all sweat dropped before Kotetsu and Izumo suddenly rose up with their hands waving wildly while Iruka just kept his arm down. Hayama seeing that there was going to be a problem decided to shove it onto Iruka like a good sensei would by telling them that since Iruka was the only one who kept his arm down that he could decide. This caused two things to happen, one of those thing was that Izumo and Kotetsu were now both looking at Iruka with pleading looks and the other was that Iruka was now looking at Hayama with a glare. Iruka gave up when he saw that his sensei was not going to waver on this one and so he took up a thinking position as he thought of all the pros and cons that came out of giving the mace to one of the other two genins on his team. After about two minutes Iruka had come up with his decision and decided tell them right away.

"Kotetsu" Iruka said simply as Hayama nodded to him before he handed the mace over to the eagerly awaiting Kotetsu. Hayama then asked Iruka why he chose Kotetsu to get the mace. Iruka replied by stating that Izumo was better than Kotetsu with the kunai blade because he already had a special technique with the blade were as Kotetsu didn't so he would probably use it as a secondary weapon were as someone like kotetsu who hadn't yet achieved any special moves would be much more likely to use it as his main weapon and not neglect the blade. When Iruka had finished his explanation Hayama pulled out yet another scroll and gave it to Kotetsu who looked at it strangely before he was told that the scroll held the style in which you needed to use the mace correctly.

When that was finished Hayama quickly told his students that they had defeated a chunin level low B-ranked missing nin from Iwa called Akio who had a decent bounty on his head that they could all share. He then told his team that they would be heading back to Konoha the next day so they had the rest of the day to themselves.

Iruka sighed as he finally got over what he had done and moved on to enjoy his day off before he had to head back to konoha once more.

STORY END

LIST OF JUTSU

**Mizu bunshin no jutsu -** The Water Clone Technique is similar to the Shadow clan technique except it creates clones out of water that have one-tenth of the original person's power. Like other solid clone techniques, the clones can be used to perform tasks the user is unable or unwilling to do for them. The range of the clone is limited however, as it cannot travel very far from the original body without losing control. Like other clone techniques, if the water clones are injured enough they will revert back to normal water.

**Suiton: Teppodama -** The user kneads chakra, and converts it into water, and then spits it out in the form of condensed balls. The high-speed water ball attack possesses just as much power to kill as an actual gunshot. While this is a water release technique, it can still be employed someplace where no water is available, which is a great advantage. It is also possible to increase the power of destruction of the spheres themselves by building up the chakra inside of them. The number of bullets is determined while kneading chakra. By taking advantage of gravity, the bullets can brutally increase in power. With a user the size of Gamabunta, the bullets can actually be more like cannonballs, making them much deadlier.

**Suiton: Mizuame nabara -** The user spits out high-viscosity, chakra infused water, aimed at a surface of wide scope. This is a stream of sticky liquid which can be used to form an adhesive trap that can inhibit a person's mobility. One can effectively reduce their enemy's area of activity with this technique, and has the effect of being able to take complete control over the battlefield. The normal scope of this technique is normally just a few metres, but if prepared, it is also possible to make an entire pond of starch syrup. Being caught in the technique can be avoided by channelling chakra to one's feet allowing one to walk upon it uninhibited, beforehand.

**Raiton: Gian -** emits lightning in the shape of a spear from its mouth, which then pierces the enemy. Its destructive power is great enough to even pierce through rock; meaning it has a high killing potential. The user can increase the number of spears to attack multiple enemies. This, coupled with the sheer speed of the lightning, makes it a difficult technique to evade. This technique is capable of being focused into a straight beam, similar to a laser.

**Doton Kekkai: Doro Domu -** This technique traps the victims inside a self-repairing dome of earth which is almost instantaneously able to reform. Jirōbō was able to absorb the chakra of anyone trapped inside, something he enjoyed greatly. However, Jirōbō's chakra was not evenly distributed throughout the dome. Near the back, relative to him, his chakra was much weaker, making the dome weaker in that spot.

**Doton: Ganchūsō -** This technique lets the user create a few rock pillars that will protrude from the ground to skew the target. The rock pillars will even pass through obstacles to reach their target.

**Doton: Doryūheki -** The user creates a solid wall of earth as a form of defence. Chakra is either converted to earth within the body and then spat out to form the wall or the user can manipulate pre-existing earth to form the wall. The earth then instantly rises up and takes form. The barrier itself is also coated with chakra, making its strength incomparable to that of a normal mud wall. Because of the earth's special characteristics, the wall is highly resistant against, for instance, fire and water. Also, for a Kage-class shinobi it is possible to create a vast volume of earth. When used by Kakashi, he creates a wall composed of bulldog sculptures.

THANKS FOR READING AND REMEMBER TO R&R


	7. First test and a sandy red head

THANKS FOR READING AND REMEMBER TO R&R

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

Chunin exams begin

Chapter 7: first test and a sandy red head

STORY START

Once the team got back to Konoha they were all pleasantly surprised to see that their mission had been upgraded from a C-rank to an A-rank which meant a much greater pay which added with their share of bounty they received made the boys very happy. Izumo and Kotetsu were even able to move out of the orphanage and rent their own place together.

With the rank increase in their mission Kotetsu and Izumo were ready to brag to anyone who would listen if they weren't quickly shut down by their own sensei who told them that he was the one that handled the A-rank missing Nin and so he was the reason they were even alive. He then told the boys how bragging would lead to nothing but their own death. This deflated the boys however they quickly got over it once their training started up again although the team was not happy about having to do mostly D-ranks again.

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After another four months of training the boys had truly become a force to be reckoned with… for genin at least. The trio were now all at least high genin in every area that they practiced in with all of them reaching mid chunin level in their individual strong points. For Izumo it was a mix of Kenjutsu and water manipulation which he had finally been able to mix together through Izumo's idea which involved a new custom made kunai blade which was now made of chakra conducting metal. Let's just say it involves his new sword and his favourite jutsu and leave it at that. When Izumo uses these two together he is at the level of a mid chunin.

Kotetsu's strongest points were now his taijutsu and kenjutsu which he managed to combine through the use of a new taijutsu similar to Taekwondo called 'Sen Fito' or a thousand feet. With his mace he has gained the advantage of being able to make it fly just as the missing Nin had with the use of hand signs. With the help of the scroll he was given plus his added taijutsu/kenjutsu combo Kotetsu is roughly mid chunin level when combining the two.

Iruka's strongest points rest in his barrier ninjutsu/earth manipulation combo and his Shibō boko style with his nun chucks. Over the last four months Iruka had finally managed to make his own barrier ninjutsu that he named Doton kekkai: Torai shi which creates three pillars that sprout out of the ground around the opponent in a triangle formation. Inside each pillar is full of paper bombs from head to toe so no matter which way the enemy tries to escape they will be hit by an explosion caused by a hand seal and this will cause a pin ball effect. Depending on the use of explosives this can be a stun, injure or kill jutsu that had been added to the ninja library of Konoha as a B-ranked jutsu. Iruka had also finally mastered the Kekkai Hojin jutsu. Aside from that Iruka had also improved his style with his nun chucks to around mid chunin level.

Alongside their improvement individually the team had now completed a total of 32 D-ranks, 11 C-ranks and 1 A-rank mission which the boys could be proud of.

Overall Hayama was proud of his students just as they were proud of themselves for what they had achieved. Hayama was so proud of his students he was thinking of recommending them for the chunin exams that was coming up in a few weeks' time… that and the fact that his best friend Tekuno Kanden said he was going to enter his own genin team and he wanted to prove he was the better teacher. When he got round to telling his team about a week later to say they were overjoyed was an understatement. However the trio's smiles soon diminished when there sensei told them of the high death rate that occurred during these particular exams and they would have to go all out just to survive let alone pass.

Team 6 was then told that the exams were being held in Sunagakure in two week and that they would need to decide if they wanted to go or not in a week's time so that they could reach Suna in time for the exams. With his part done Hayama gave his three students the slip of paper they needed to sign if they wanted to have a chance at making chunin. At that moment however it was easy to tell that the trio of genin were going to enter the chunin exams if the grins on their faces were anything to go by.

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A week later and team 6 was packed and ready to go. It only took the team four days to reach Suna while running at a moderate pace but when the genin asked there sensei why they had come so early he just replied by saying that they needed to get use to the environment and that they would have just over three days to do so.

In order for his team to get use to the straining weather of the Suna desert Hayama took his team out to the furthest and most secluded training ground away from Suna. He then made his team do a slightly less physical training then they were all used to in order to get better used to the heat and he did this every day the boys were in Suna but finished early on the third day to make sure his team had enough rest for the exams and boy did they need it. All three of the boys would agree that those three days in the desert type conditions was one of the most gruelling training sessions the boys had ever had.

When the day for the first part of the exam came the boys were pumped as they all were fired up and ready to begin the exams. They quickly grabbed their gear while making sure not to forget anything as you never knew what to expect. They then each grabbed their individual signed slips before they were told to go to the third floor of building and enter the room labelled 302 (AN: ha-ha genius). When they arrived at the building they were all amazed at both the similarities and differences it had with Konoha's version of their own academy. The trio quickly began their walk up the flight of stairs. As the three genin reached the second floor they noticed a small commotion going on but only Kotetsu seemed to be interested but quickly followed his teammates when he noticed they were leaving him behind as they just kept walking up to the third floor… what's this, eleven year olds that can count surely not.

When they arrived at the third floor they met their sensei who congratulated them all on passing the pre-test which just lead to the three genin staring at him blankly. This caused their sensei to burst out laughing as he struggled to get out his next words

"BWAHAHAHA… you mean to tell me that you boys didn't even bother… HAHA… to see what the commotion on the second floor was… HAHAHA" his only response was a shake of the head 'no' from his three students which only seemed to make the man laugh harder. He soon got over his laughing fit however as he began to put a serious face on before he spoke again.

"I don't know whether to be proud that you know how to count or be worried that your curiosity has been completely erased… although that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Anyway hand me your slips and carry own through that door but be warned that you might experience a little bit of hate as you enter" the warning was noted by the three however they were not prepared for massive killing intent they felt as they entered the room as it seemed like everyone was looking at them. The three boys quickly schooled their features however as they took notice to the fact that team 5 seemed to be there as well and they headed over to greet them.

When they reached the other Konoha team they made quick conversation with them in hushed voices as the two teams stood together on the outside of the room as they all analysed their opposition before the first test of the exam started. What they found didn't really surprise them as they noticed that apart from a few Suna teams, it was all smaller villages competing as the current arrangements in treaties wouldn't assure any of the other big villages that their genin would be safe.

"So you really did decide to show up… for a minute their I thought you were going to pussy out and be a no show" Rinji said in a hushed voice but team 6 stayed calm as Izumo quietly replied

"Yeah cause after all we are rubbish ninja aren't we number 6" which caused smirks to appear on the faces of his two teammates and quiet giggles to be heard coming from the two girls of team 5. While all that was going on Rinji just took on a red face of embarrassment before he barked out

"I have improved" This just caused Iruka to smile at him before he added his two cent by telling Rinji 'we shall see'. Right after Iruka had said that a cloud of smoke appeared in the middle of the room as a group of people chunin level and above appeared before a deep male voice rang out through the room

"Follow me, take a seat and shut up" with those instructions said all the genin in the room began to follow the rude man into another room that was full of desks which everyone sat at. The teams had all been split up due to their names being placed on different desks. When Iruka found his seat he realised that he was near the front and against the right hand side wall. He also took notice that both of his teammates were near the back and the person sitting next to him seemed to be a local kunoichi by the name of Maki however when he offered his hand in greeting she just shook it off before she sat down and looked towards the front.

After Iruka had been ignored by the girl he heard snickering behind him but paid them no mind as he too looked towards the front. When he did he noticed that the same man that had yelled at them earlier was now standing at the front.

"10 questions… 10th will be given at the end… caught cheating three times… and your whole team fails" The proctor stated staggeringly as he spoke the last sentence with a predatory grin on his face that sent shivers down the majority of the genin taking the exam. After getting over his shiver Iruka looked down at the test in front of him and realised that although he could do some of the questions some of them were ridicules. How the hell was he supposed to know what exact speed a kunai needed to be traveling at in order to hit a target 50 metres away at an angle of 47 degrees as he was running at 14 metres per second. Iruka though quickly calmed down and closed his eyes and went over the situation in his head. 'Ok… 9 questions… 9 questions… caught three times… wait a minute caught three time… ha I can't believe they actually want us to cheat in a test oh well… oh shit what about Izumo and Kotetsu… I know Izumo will probably be alright… but Kotetsu and his curious nature he will probably just look over someone's shoulder and get spotted by the advisors'. When Iruka looked back to see if his teammates were alright he sweat dropped as he noticed that Kotetsu was indeed trying and failing to innocently look over the guy in front of him shoulder… and he hadn't been caught. When he finally looked over at Izumo he noticed that for some strange reason he had his kunai blade positioned across his desk until Iruka realised that Izumo must have been looking into its reflection.

Iruka grinned as he noticed at least one of his teammates was going about this at least a little bit secretively. Once Iruka finished the questions he knew he started to come up with his own way of 'cheating the test'. Iruka was now glad that he had gone through with mastering all of his jutsu before he came to the exams as it meant that he wouldn't have to use any hand signs or whisper its name meaning he wouldn't be caught… but wait wasn't there a fluctuation of chakra… fuck!. Iruka then thought to himself 'fuck it, it's the first attempt' and with that thought in his head he dropped a smoke pellet on the ground which caused a massive amount of smoke to flood the room. Everyone quickly guarded their exam papers. The person who was behind Iruka was not quick enough and Iruka easily switched the two papers and smiled when he saw that all the questions had been answered. When the smoke finally decapitated there were a few cries of cheating but they were quickly silenced and taken out of the room.

As Iruka saw this going on he just smirked and turned his test over so that it could not be seen by others. He then crossed his arms on top of the desk before he lowered his head and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Iruka was startled as he woke up to see everyone else leaving the room and wondered what he had missed and if for some reason they needed to go outside for the tenth question. He then got up and began moving along with everyone else while secretly looking for his two teammates to find out just what was going on. Iruka started to panic however when he noticed that everyone seemed to be moving in different directions once they exited the building. He was saved however by his two teammates - who must have gotten ahead of him while he slept - who waved him over once they saw him exiting the building.

"Sorry we didn't wake you when we walked past but we didn't wont to interrupt your little snooze" chuckled the two boys in unison before Iruka grew red with embarrassment and quickly asked about what happened while he was out. Izumo was the one to give him his answer as told the scar faced boy about how the tenth question was just to see if the remaining genin had the guts to truly become chunin before he laughed as he said 'you obviously had the guts for it huh Iruka'. This caused Iruka to go red once more as he mentally cursed himself falling asleep in a fucking exam… who the fuck does that… other than Nara.

Iruka was then told that the teams were to meet back at the academy the next day. He was pleased about this fact however as it meant that he could get some proper rest before the second exam the next day especially since it was well known that the second test was much more difficult than the first.

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The next day came all too quickly for team 6 as they found themselves walking to the academy only this time there was something in the air that the three boys just couldn't seem to shake off. It was almost like someone was watching them. The three genin pushed on however as they didn't want to be late for their second exam. All three boys remained ready for anything as the feeling they were all getting was not a particularly good one… it reminded them all of the time when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha only to a much lesser extent. It was then that the three Genin noticed a toddler with tufts of red hair looking directly at them from the edge of an alley way. The boy had small dark rings under his eyes suggesting a lack of sleep and was wearing the average clothing of someone who traditionally lived in the village.

When the three boys looked at the toddler they couldn't help but feel some kind of impending doom but they all ignored that in favour of just looking at the toddler with looks of pity, sadness and curiosity as they each felt bad for the supposed orphan as surely no parent would leave their kid to wonder around at that age… right? All three of the genin were orphans and so they knew some of what the toddler must be going through, the only difference being that the kid would not remember his parents were as all three of the genin had lost their parents to the Kyuubi and had at least known them before they died.

The toddler seemed to gain a confused face as he scrunched up his features in a way that would make any girl want to hug the life at him. The red haired toddler just didn't get it, even at his young age he could still remember all the looks and his toddler mind could not comprehend the fact that not just one but three people were looking at him without a slight hint of fright… not even a smidge. They weren't scowling or calling for his death in fact if the toddler saw anything on their faces he would say concern which only served the boy more confusing as he simply wondered why this was the case.

When the red haired toddler didn't do anything the three orphans decided to walk over and say hello to who they thought to be an orphaned toddler despite the feeling of doom all three of them were receiving. As they walked over they all noticed the toddler stiffen slightly but they weren't afraid as they knew exactly how to go about earning his trust as they had all been in the same situation themselves at least a couple of times. Iruka calmly and surely walked towards the toddler at a very slow pace as he made sure his hands could be seen by the small boy in front of him in order to show that he was no harm. The two others mirrored his actions as they slowly got closer and closer to the boy until they were just five metres away before they stopped and waved their open hands in greeting. Something they were glad to see the toddler respond to in kind by adding his own wave… as small and short as it was.

The three genin all smiled at the toddler when they received a response and promptly sat on their asses in front of the red haired toddler as they looked up at the sun and noticed that they still had a while before they were meant to be at the academy and so they decided to spend their time getting to know the sandy red head as they so dubbed him instead of just waiting at the academy for the test to begin. When they noticed the toddler was giving them a confused look Iruka just smiled kindly to the boy before he patted the space next to him as a gesture for him to sit next to them and so he did albeit cautiously of course. When he sat down there was a silence before the three genin began to introduce themselves as Iruka, Izumo and Kotetesu… no need to give out any more than that as although they doubted this boy would spout what they said to anyone, one could never be too sure.

After the three genin had finished introducing themselves they gestured for the boy in front of them to do the same and after several minutes of coaxing he shakily introduced himself as "Ga… Gaa… Gaara". Short and simple as it was the three orphans knew that even that was an achievement for the boy of his age. After that the genin began to tell him all about their own personal lives as Izumo mentioned his love for pranks and cleanliness… which you wouldn't think went together but somehow he managed. Izumo also delved into his developing crush and how he couldn't believe he was falling for such a lazy ass girl to which Iruka and Kotetsu laughed as they already knew about Izumo's developing feeling for one Sumire Nara. Even Gaara lips seemed to twitch in an upright position as Izumo explained how lazy the Nara was.

Kotetsu then went on to talk about how he too liked pranks and explained to Gaara how he was curious by nature before he told Gaara that his goal was to one day become stronger than a man by the name of Asuma Sarutobi. After that he told Gaara that unlike his two teammates he didn't have a girl he was falling for yet but he was sure it would come eventually but he needed to become strong first and the chunin exams was his next step.

It was then Iruka's turn as he told Gaara that he also had a small love for pranks and his soft spot for Yakitori. Iruka also explained his situation with a girl named Anko by telling Gaara how he needed to become stronger than the girl so that he could ask her out. Gaara found this amusing but didn't let it show as he knew from past experience that his smirks usually frightened people and he did not want his new friends to leave him. Iruka then unsealed the photo he had of Anko and even let Gaara hold it as Izumo and Kotetsu snickered while remembering just how Iruka had gotten that particular photo.

After Iruka finished the group continued to converse for a while longer before Team 5's genin decided they better go unless they wanted to be late for their second exam. They soon left but not before promising to meet up with the toddler again once they passed the second test in the Chunin exams. Gaara was a bit sceptical about whether the three were strong enough or if they would even come back and see him but all the same he was happy about the prospect of seeing the boys again.

So Gaara did something he had never done before as he watched the three genin run off to the exam.

He smiled.

THE END

SORRY ABOUT THE SHORT CHAPTER

R&R

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED!

GAARA: the Toddler is still innocent and has not yet become unstable and as for him being changed because of Iruka and co well I'll just say that is for me to know and you to find out.

The first test wasn't exactly original I know but I promise you that the second exam will be.

THANKS FOR READING.


	8. Curiosity killed the cat

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

AN: I realise that in my last chapter Iruka was a little out of character when he fell asleep in the middle of the exam. Still he passed with full grades… so in away even after falling asleep he passed with 100% which is something a certain blonde couldn't. I also did this as a way of suggesting just how easy the first exam is to get by, I mean really Naruto doesn't get the first exams message or answer any of the first 9 questions… and yet he still passed… fuck it he can pass because he is a good speaker.

Anyway,

Chunin exams continue

Chapter 8: Curiosity killed the cat

STORY START

Sand… it was all the three genin could see as they continued to trek on mile after gruelling mile in the sandy deserts surrounding Suna. Thee three boys were inclined to believe this as a punishment fit for hell as they all reminisced in just how they had ended up in such a predicament.

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The three genin had quickly taken off towards the academy after a quick goodbye to Gaara as the three could not afford to be late to their exam. They were surprised when they noticed no one else was currently occupying the meeting place and began to fear the worst but it was not to be as they all soon took notice to the board at the end of the room. Once the three had moved closer they spotted a list of all the teams who had managed to get passed the first exam and showed a different location of meeting for each team and a meeting time. When the three found their own team name they all saw that their own meeting place was on at a training ground that just happened to be on the other side of the village outskirts… 'Perfect' they all thought. That's when they all decided to look at the time and saw it was… in another ten minutes… 'Fuck'. Konoha's team 6 quickly exited the academy once more as they each sprinted as fast as they could towards their place of meeting. The three quickly took to the roofs in order to have a better chance of getting there on time… they would never be able to live it down if they failed the chunin exams because they were late to a meeting spot and any thoughts of what their sensei would do to them were quickly suppressed and used as motivators to go faster.

Nine minutes and thirty seven seconds later the three genin arrived all a little short of breath as going your fastest for any length of time was indeed tiresome. When they arrived they were surprised to be met by clapping which would soon be followed by a sarcastic but feminine tone.

"'clap, clap'… Wow twenty-three seconds early, I'm impressed" Her only answer was muffled grunts from the three boys as they still hadn't quite got their breath back before all three quickly stood to attention accordingly as they waited for their next exam to begin.

"In this scroll is all you need to survive for a total of three days… you may have to survive up to five. Now I hope you enjoy Suna's backyard and do try to make it back before time runs out. Nighty night." The Woman stated with a haunting smirk that stayed planted on her face throughout her entire explanation… if you could call it that. The three genin soon felt three presences behind them but none of them were fast enough to even turn and see their attacker before they were all seeing stars. Once the three were successfully taken out the woman quickly instructed the three jonin in front of her to take the kids to their own special section of the Suna 'outback'.

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And now here they were surrounded by nothing but sand as the heat of the deserts sun shone down upon them with absolutely no mercy in mind. The first thing the boys had done when they got their senses back was to check what exactly was in the scroll and were all happy at the contained water they had but quickly realised that it would barely last them a single day if the rationed it wrong. Alongside the water was some canned food, a compass, a map with no markings and a note addressed to their team. Iruka quickly took hold of the note before he verbally told his two team-mates what it had said.

"Dear Konoha's team six; we humbly applaud you for making it past the first exam and welcome you to the second… I hope you are enjoying Suna's lovely outback… Your task for this test is to simply make it back to Suna ALIVE and in one piece before the scheduled five days are up. As a side note we must add that although you may happen to get back unscathed we must warn you that there may be a few surprises along the way." The boy finished while expressing the whole ALIVE part to his group with a grim smile as they all knew that the highest death tolls always came in second test of the exam.

It was with that thought that the team of genin slowly began to head out as they certainly did not want to stay in a place where the people that had knocked them out knew exactly where they were. As they began to trudge away from where they had woken up they each began to try and think of ways to find their own way back to the village but it proved to be rather more difficult than the boys had imagined and they hoped that they would be able to find away soon or else they may just not make it back in time or worse… not make it back at all.

After a while of general wondering genin noticed that it would be dark soon and having had no advances in their ideas to get back to Suna and knowing that with the cover of darkness extreme cold would follow when in the desert the three set out to find something they could use for shelter. About thirty odd minutes later the trio were lucky enough to stumble upon a natural looking cave made up of dried up rock. The three genin knew however that it was very likely that some sort of animal was currently living in that exact cave and so all three of them knew to approach with caution. Once the three had got to the edge of the cave they noticed what appeared to be a small den for a group of wild cats which all suddenly raised their heads in alarm to the new arrivals and found their curiosity rising at the prospect of meeting humans for the first time. The wild cats paid extra attention to the boy with the spiky black hair and single strand tape running across his face which crossed at the bridge of the boy's nose. The boy looked back at the group with equal curiosity which stunned the cats as they would've never have guessed to come across a human who acted just as curious as they did.

While this was going on Iruka and Izumo remained on high alert for any signs of hostility before all three genin were surprised as one of the cats… began to talk in a naturally curious tone

"What are the like of three genins doing in the middle of the dessert" a feminine voiced purred as a female cat strode forth in order to show herself as the speaker. Surprisingly enough it was Kotetsu who answered their question as he replied by answering the female cats question before asking one of his own.

"We are currently involved in the second stage of the Chunin exams and are trying to find our way back to the village hidden in the sand and were trying to find shelter when we came across this cave… Would I be correct to say that you are part of a summoning clan?" The female cat looked at the boy with understanding as he explained their current situation before her eyes took on a dangerous gleam as she heard what the boy in front of her asked.

"Yes we are all a part of a summoning clan but before you ask… No we are not a part of the cat summoning clan as we are part of a clan that branched off from what we once were a have now become a part of the wild cat clan… We are a clan of strays and cats who do not wish to be house pets" The female cat replied with venom as she mentioned the words 'house pets'. The three genin all filed that away for a later date as they continued to listen to the female cat while Iruka and Izumo remained ready for anything. Kotetsu was to enrapt with what he was seeing however as his sense of danger was quickly clouded by his strong curiosity.

"Usually we would tell you to move out after we retrieved or information… or clawed you to pieces but we are curious about the one that looks similar to a hedgehog with a white strand covering his face." The three genin were all surprised at this but none more than Kotetsu who once again surprised his team by stepping forward and addressing the female cat once more.

"What is it that you wish to know" in a formal tone which only served to surprise his two teammates more. The female cat just smirked in response before she suddenly threw a sharpened rock straight at Kotetsu's face. She was happy to see that even though the boy looked aloof he was secretly ready for anything as he managed to block the rock with a quick swipe of his Kunai blades. The female cats smile grew even more as she saw that the boys two teammates' drop in front of him before the rock had even touched the ground. Tensions were high in the small cave as both parties seemed to tense in readiness. This lasted another couple of second before a cheerful laughter broke out from the cat's side of the cave as the three genin all looked on at the display with mild confusion as they tried to work out what was so funny.

"You boy" the female cat said while pointing at Kotetsu with her pore.

"You have earned yourself an audience with our head… do you except" she finished with an expectant tone to her voice. Iruka and Izumo both turned back and faced Kotetsu with wide eyes and open mouths in pure shock of the offer Kotetsu was receiving. Kotetsu meanwhile was even more shocked as the implications of what the cat had asked him full force and it took the boy a few moments to re-gather himself before he stepped forward once again.

"Before I answer your question I would like to ask a few of my own questions… First things first you must promise to me that while I am away my teammates are able to stay in this cave while remaining unharmed and that I will be back by tomorrow morning at the latest as I do have an exam to finish. I would also like to ask to name of the one who would be escorting me as well as where exactly the stand point is between the Wild Cats clan and the Sable clan." Silence rained as the female thought on all the boy had asked her as she noticed his head turn to the ponytailed boy with a scar running across nose when he mentioned the thing about their relationship with the sables. It was then that she first took at the scar faced boy as she soon noticed the Sable clan symbols and although a little shocked at this revelation she was more intrigued at the fact that the sable clan even had a human representative and it only made her want to introduce Kotetsu to her boss that much more.

"… Your friends will remain safe as long as they do not provoke… The meeting between you and boss should take no longer than a few hours so you will arrive back with plenty of time to finish your test… and as for the Sable clan… we are neutral… neither allied nor enemies… but I'm sure that could be changed if given a good enough reason" The female cat replied slowly while making sure everything was said right. Kotetsu quickly mulled her answer in his head before he turned his sight on his two teammates to see what they thought. He could see the obvious reluctance the two had about being separated from him in a semi-hostile situation but they each also knew that this would most likely be Kotetsu's shot at getting the support of an animal clan. Iruka and Izumo slowly nodded their heads, giving Kotetsu the permission to go forth with this once in a life time offer. Kotetsu then turned his sight back to the cat in front of him while nodding to her to show he accepted the terms given. The female cat then walked up to Kotetsu albeit a little slowly to show she meant no harm by it. Once she reached him she told him to put his hand on her back before she used the necessary hand signs for her reverse summoning Jutsu.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx

When Kotetsu opened his eyes again he saw what anyone else would call crazy but he personally thought was interesting and was even forced to suppress chuckles as he came upon a scene he would never forget. Surrounding Kotetsu was a forest of pink scratching posts that all looked slightly tattered, but what really intrigued Kotetsu was the size of the posts as they all seemed to stretch far into the sky with some even hitting the clouds. Little did Kotetsu know that this would be his first test.

The female cat saw the boys intrigued expression and smiled before her smile quickly turned into an evil smirk as she thought about the boy's first test. The cat then began to climb one of the posts until she was head height with Kotetsu. (AN: all the cats in the cave were the size of regular cats including the one currently testing Kotetsu)

"Before you can gain a meeting with boss you must first past a few tests the first one being that you must climb this post until you reach the clouds were you will find the home of the wild cat clan." The female cat told Kotetsu in a serious tone as she watched with amusement at the boy as he became a little white at the prospect of such a task. The boy quickly shook himself out of his stupor before he began to wonder what the 'clan in the skies' looked like as his mind began to wonder to all different kinds of ideas. He was shaken out of his wonderings by a soft chuckle he heard coming from the cat in front of him.

"You have a single hour… No chakra, starting… now." The cat told him before she herself began her journey upwards at a speed that stunned the genin that now stood in the felines dust. Kotetsu once again broke out of his stupor before he grabbed hold of the post and began his climb up the Velcro type material.

In the end it took Kotetsu fifty-five minutes to reach the top after multiple screams of terror were produced due to a loss of gripping. Luckily for him he had managed to regain his grip on the post without using chakra so that he wouldn't have to start at the bottom again as he knew that there would be no chance in him making it on time if he had used his chakra and needed to start again.

When Kotetsu finally reached the top he looked around and was completely amazed by what he saw. Just above the cloud seemed to be a platform of some sort which housed… well houses that seemed to be full to the brink with cats ranging from the common housecat to the more exotic cats that had obviously never lived in the care of a human. As Kotetsu walked around he noticed a lot of eyes on him as he walked along in the moon light. Sharp yellow eyes seemed to appear out of every alleyway he walked by as he headed towards the biggest building on the platform. When he arrived he noticed the female cat that he had meet in the cave and began to walk in direction. When he finally stood in front of her he was taken by the female cat as she led him up a spiralling staircase that seemed to go on forever. When Kotetsu finally reached the top he was rewarded with the sight of the grandest doors he had ever seen. In front of the boy stood doors that reached 12 foot in height and looked as though belonged in a castle.

When the female cat moved up to the door Kotetsu wasn't surprised by the echoing sounds that occurred after each knock. It was silent for a time before a deep, powerful voice seemed to echo around the boy allowing him to finally come to grips with the power of the being that he was about to meet. 'Come in' was the echoed word as the doors seemed to part automatically with a classic creaking whine. When Kotetsu entered the room he was surprised about the similarities of it when compared to the Hokages office back in Konoha. In fact the only real difference it held was the massive library that branched out from the left side, the library was so big that Kotetsu couldn't see the end of it as he imagined it must have curved to the left as it went along. The other difference was the furniture inside the office type room as every bit of it seemed a little more… fluffy than it needed to be and most of it looked as though it had been scratched up multiple times.

Kotetsu heard a cough and looked down to see it was the female cat that had brought him to the room and saw that she was pointing forward with one of her paws. Kotetsu sight followed her paw until it came upon that backside of the leather chair that was positioned behind the main desk inside of the room. After a few seconds the chair began to turn and Kotetsu silently braced himself for the being that had exuded so much power earlier when he had called them in. When the chair turned around fully Kotetsu was so shocked he falls to the floor in one massive sweat drop. There sitting in front of him was the cutest little cat Kotetsu had ever laid his eyes upon. Even Ibiki Morino would have a hard time not laughing at the sight of that particular cat in a big leather chair but somehow Kotetsu managed to keep it in while only allowing a small smile to creep across his face. This was seen by both the boss cat and the female cat that had brought him here which surprised them both as they thought he would start cracking up almost immediately and the fact that he didn't surprised the two as smiles began to accommodate their faces too.

The two cats were further impressed when they saw the boy go down on one knee and place one of his fists on the ground in front of him.

"I thank you for allowing me this opportunity to meet such an esteemed leader such as yourself." Kotetsu said humbly to the cat in front of him. Once he did he was surprised to hear deep laughing coming from the small cat in front of him causing the boy to crease his brows in frustration and confusion at how such a small cat's voice could be so much deeper than his own. The boy was only confused further as the small cat was covered in a puff of smoke although it quickly turned into shock as he saw a gigantic claw shoot straight at his face. Ducking the powerful blow by a hairs width the boy quickly brought a scroll out of his pocket before he summoned his conch shell mace and brandished it on his shoulder. Once he had done so he forced all his senses on the smoke in front of him and knew that the 'boss' that had attacked him was still there as he waited for the smoke to clear. Once the smoke had cleared Kotetsu wasn't really surprised that the 'cute little cat' had changed into the biggest domestic cat that he had ever seen. It had the appearance of a miniature leopard or jaguar with the black spots that perturbed its yellow skin. The cat stood at three times the normal size of an everyday domestic cat. Kotetsu's interest in the boss cat was peaked as he wandered just what type of cat it was. The boy did not have to wait long as the boss cat stepped forward while opening its mouth in preparation for speech.

"Greetings young one, it is indeed nice to be notified as important and so I will allow you my name. I am known by my pairs as Madara (AN: purely coincidence of course. I thought it was kind of funny that it meant spots). I am a breed of cat known as Ocelot but have been fortunate enough to become almost as big as a jaguar. As a result of my kind sharing a similar looking fur to a jaguar we were hunted to the point of near extinction much like those of the Sable clan that I hear your teammate is connected with. It was during this time that my particular species of cat made a new clan which incorporated all the 'wild cats' out there that needed a home as we became a clan of drifters… Now that you know a little about me how about you tell me a little about yourself in return." The now named Madara purred out in what seemed to be an amused tone full of mirth. Kotetsu quickly and quietly responded by resealing his conch shell mace in order to show he was no fret. Once he had finished that he carefully began his own introduction while not wanting to give too much away.

"My name is Kotetsu Hagane and once again I thank you for allowing me this chance and for bestowing upon me how this clan was formed. I am a proud genin of Konoha who was orphaned due to the Kyuubi's attack on our village. My main areas of strength are in Taijutsu and Kenjutsu with my conch shell mace being my weapon of choice. I also have an affinity for lightning but have not gone very far with it yet. My dream for the future is to one day surpass a man by the name of Asuma Sarutobi who is a ninja in my village that I greatly respect" Kotetsu finished happy with what he had said.

Throughout the whole of Kotetsu's introduction Madara had been looking for any sign of deceit coming from the boy and was pleased when he found none and so when the boy finished what he had been saying he smiled at him before he pulled out a scroll from behind this desk and rolled it open on top of the desk. Kotetsu noticed that there were many columns but no writing which confused him a bit before he noticed Madara beckoning him forth and so he did.

"With this you will become the first ever human representative of the wild cats' clan. All you must do is sign your name in blood and it will be official. You have proven to me that you are plenty capable of honouring our clan but I must warn you that we are not a heavy duty attack force and much prefer to use speed and stealth over brute strength. We are also cursed by our over curious nature which I see you contain as well and in order to satisfy our thirst for knowledge we have gained many books over the years and have many different kinds of libraries situated around our clan ranging from every day citizens information to the deepest secrets of med and ninjutsu." Madara finished with a proud tone to his voice as he mentioned the different libraries his clan had. Kotetsu himself was intrigued and wanted to visit said libraries but knew there would be another time for it once he had finished the chunin exams. With this thought in mind Kotetsu stepped forward with a smile on his face as he bit his thumb before using the blood flowing out of it to sign his name in the first of the columns. Once he finished he noticed his blood glow for a second signifying that he was now the first human representative of the wild cats' clan.

After the boy saw the confirmation with his own eyes he smiled even bigger before he turned to see the boss cat talking to the female one that brought him here. Kotetsu was only confused when he overheard the boss cat telling the female that she could drop her henge. Kotetsu was even more shocked when he saw the cats' fur change into a fur that matched the boss cats '… this could only man that…' Kotetsu began to think before his thoughts were interrupted by the boss cat himself.

"This is my daughter Kaori. She will be your familiar as she is the one who brought you here… however if any harm comes to her I will personally rain hell down upon you." Madara finished as his voice only seemed to get more and more demonic, leaving the poor boy to just nod as he no longer trusted his voice.

Once that was over Kotetsu had momentarily talked to the cats about payment of milk in exchange for their help before he was transported back to the cave were his friends had been sitting in wait. Once he got there he was instantly bombarded with questions to all of which he answered quickly before an idea came to his head and he said.

"I think I just figured out a way for us to get back to Suna"

CHAPTER END

OK SORRY ABOUT THIS CHAPTER BEING SO FOCUSED ON Kotetsu but it kind of needed to be and there will be a chapter similar to this in the future only with Izumo being the centre of attention instead.

In terms of power I'm pretty sure that all three current genin of team 6 will become sages in their own rights however because their summons are smaller than the ones on the actual anime series they will not be as powerful. For example I am thinking of making Iruka's sage transformation similar to that of Naruto's no-tailed mode but with a bit more power and more control. However I am not totally sure what overall rank each will receive as of yet but I'm currently leaning on Jonin or special jonin for all three.

Thanks for reading and as always **R&R**


	9. 2nd test complete

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

R&R

Chapter 9: 2nd test complete

STORY START

"I think I just figured out a way for us to get back to Suna" Kotetsu stated while his two team members just stared at him blankly while they waited to hear what Kotetsu's idea was. Kotetsu just smiled at their response however as he looked outside the cave and realised that it was still dark and he was still rather tired.

"I'll tell when I wake up" Kotetsu sleepily muttered as he fell backwards from exhaustion. He never hit the ground however as both Iruka and Izumo caught their tired teammate before they both lowered him don softly before Izumo nodded off as well leaving Iruka to guard.

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The next day Izumo woke his two teammates up and they each feed on a small amount of their rations before Kotetsu went about getting ready and hoping to hell his new partner would be willing to lend him a hand. With the use of Kuchiyose no jutsu technique Kotetsu summoned Kaori and she soon appeared as she introduced herself to Kotetsu's partners as they did the same. Kotetsu quickly went about telling Kaori what needed to be done before asking if she could lead his team back to Suna to which the cat nodded its head in agreement… as long as she got her reward of tuna and milk at the end of it she was fine with leading the group of Genin back to Suna.

So they set off with the cat telling them that if luck was on their side they would reach Suna by the end of the day… and if it wasn't they would all be dead while she would go back to her home and laugh about it with her father. It was safe to say that Kaori was a little on the sadistic side.

It was about three hours later when the heat really began to set in and they came across what looked to be a waterhole with what looked to be trees and green grass surrounding it. The three boys took no real notice of it however as all three were instantly on guard and saw it was an illusion which they all figured to be a mirage except for Iruka as when he activated his sensors ability he quickly found that his team was no longer alone in the desert. He quickly made a few concealed signs to his teammates to let them know as well before the group carried on walking as normally as possible while trying their best not to look like they were alert.

Of in the distance was an impressed Jonin of Suna who was pleased he had finally come across some genin who knew how to use their head. Sure he had seen Iruka's hand signs telling his team about him but that just made him more impressed as he wondered just how good the boys sensing ability truly was. 'Well looks like I'll just have to go and find out' the Jonin thought to himself with a smirk before he began tailing the cautious genin team from under the sand.

It was two hours later when the team of genin let their guard slip just enough for the Jonin from Suna to attack. The trio of genin were getting tired thanks to the cruelty of the sun but all three were determined to make it back to Suna by nightfall as they continued to trudge on. Iruka had lost track of the person he had sensed hours ago and the three had figured the person must have moved on. Oh how they would eat those words.

The three had simply been conversing about their individual pranks that they had pulled over the years when they were attacked by a kunai that was launched out of the sand straight at Izumo's face and it was only because of Kaori that the attack didn't connect as she reached out and used her claws to bat the kunai away. The three boys quickly went back to back as they formed a triangle like formation around Kaori who was in the centre of the three and constantly looking at the sand as she tried to feel if it was moving under their feet.

As Kaori did that the trio of genin all steeled their gazes outwards as they each tried to find anything that could indicate a possible attack from the enemy. It did not take long as suddenly the group had several kunai come at them from every direction. It was then that they all wielded their own weapons of choice, Iruka with his nun-chucks, Izumo with his kunai blade and Kotetsu with his Conch shell mace before all three began blocking the incoming kunai with their own weapons. After another few minutes the projectiles stopped as an airy silence filled the battlefield.

All of a sudden Kaori yelped as a hand shot out of the sand in attempt to grab the female feline. The cat was to quick however as it jumped into Kotetsu's awaiting arms, not being ones to look a gift horse in the mouth Izumo and Iruka both swung their weapons at their attackers exposed arm. One looking to cut his arm off while the over hoped to ensnare and capture however both were to slow as they both missed by a hairs width as the arm receded back into the sand once more as all three genin cursed at the missed opportunity before they each tensed once more as they noticed the figure now standing twenty metres away in front of them.

All three genins eyes were glued to the man in front of them but that didn't mean that their senses were as they all made sure to stay vigilant as there could always be more than one attacker. The Jonin smirked at this as she was happy to finally come across a decent group of genin because after all… she liked to play with her lunch.

"I have come for your execution" The female jonin stated with a smirk on her face that showed the woman's sadistic nature. All three genin tensed as they heard this before they each got into their own stances and prepared to go to battle with the woman in front of them.

All was silent as you could literally hear a pin drop. Tensions were at an all-time high as the two different sides continued their stare off. The staring contest was ended quickly however as dust rose up from the positions all four had been standing at as the clash between 'enemies' began.

The clashing of metal could be heard for miles as the voice of battle made itself known to all those listening. The three genin were using every trick they knew just to stay alive against their far superior opponent. Teamwork was going to be essential toward the boy's survival which they had in bucket loads as the Suna jonin was impressed with just how in sync the three were. They each seemed to know exactly when and how their teammates were going to attack with a slash or cut and when they were going to block or dodge and used it to its maximum effect which even left the jonin sweating slightly.

The battle had been going for less than a minute and yet the group was surrounded by the scars of war. In trying to 'kill' off the enemy as quickly as possible the two sides had gone all out from the beginning in hopes of finishing it quickly so that they could move on to their own agenda's.

Eventually the two enemies jumped apart as they found themselves in their starting positions with the only difference being the sweat and blood that dripped from their bodies as they turned the yellow sand, red. Puffing could be heard coming from the three genin as they all tried their best to look unaffected by the battle they had just experienced in order to look strong in the eyes of the enemy… something that impressed the jonin of Suna even more as she could not believe how well trained the genin were compared to the ones she had faced earlier.

While the jonin was debating on whether or not to just pass the three genin already after such a worthy performance the three genin were all racing to come up with a plan of action for their so called 'executioner'. It was then that Izumo had a stroke of genius as he soon signalled his plan to the other two as the three soon mentally got themselves ready for what they were about to do.

The Suna jonin had spotted the signal easily enough however she had no idea of its meaning and so was still lost on the manor. Deciding that this would be the battle plan she would judge the three on to see if they were worthy of the chance to advance to the rank of Chunin, the jonin soon prepared herself for the onslaught that was sure to come.

Kotetsu was first up as he throw his mace at the jonin while pulling the hand-seals necessary in order to keep the weapon flying in order to distract the jonin while his teammates moved on to the second part of their plan.

Iruka and Izumo soon moved forward at an equally fast pace in order to reach the enemy jonin as fast as possible. Coming in from her blind spot Iruka quickly attempted a sucker punch to the back of the head but was easily dodged by the jonin before she quickly punched the genin in the guts. This proved to be a bad move however if the smirk on Iruka's face was anything to go by before she remembered the other boy and quickly looked up to try and find him.

She was to late however as Izumo's Suiton: Mizuame Nabara (Water style: Syrup Trap) was already hitting her legs as Iruka used all his strength to hold her there for long enough for both of them to be trapped in the sticky liquid while Kotetsu and Izumo flew in, each with their own kunai blades in hand as they both went for the killing blow so as to make sure the jonin wouldn't be able to get a hold of Iruka and use him against them as that would have caused the whole plan to fail.

All three boys looked on shocked however when they noticed that the female jonin had blocked not one but both of the boys strike with a pair of kunai she now had equipped. Both boys were then easily thrown away before the jonin quickly punched Iruka hard enough to break two of his ribs. She then quickly used a boast of chakra to escape from the C-ranked technique as she now stood in front of the injured genin of Konoha's team six with a sadistic smile on her face which only spelt trouble for the three genin as they all gained a defiant look on their faces.

This only seemed to make the jonins smile even larger both she spoke out.

"…You pass…" she said simply while laughing on the inside at the genins shocked expressions.

"…Now all you need to do is get back to Suna alive over the next few days but judging from that cat of yours that wouldn't be too hard for you." The jonin continued in an easy going voice although it was pretty clear that she was starting to get a little peeved at the three genin's shocked looks but just before she left she heard the one who she'd given broken ribs to speak up.

"…We… when you manipulated the sand… was that a bloodline… or was it earth manipulation?" Iruka asked the female jonin who merely gave him a quizzical look before she answered him quickly… she had other things to do after all.

"…If you ever accomplish completely mastering Earth I am sure you will find out for yourself…" she said before disappearing in a swirl of sand.

"…Man we really got to learn how to do that" Kotetsu whined after a few minutes in order to break the silence. He was quickly answered by short hums from the other two in response before they all got up and began to follow Kotetsu's summons once more, albeit a lot slower and more careful before due to remaining cautious and Iruka's injury slowing them down.

It took the boys a while but in the end the three decided to push on through the first hour of darkness as they had no shelter to hide in anyway. When the boys finally did arrive they found that it was already almost pitch black and they could barely see in front let alone what was a hundred metres or so away.

So it was with thankful sighs that the three genin arrived at the gates to Suna and got checked in with the guards by giving them identification which the jonin who had dumped them had so kindly left with them. After that the gate guards had given them instructions to go straight to their apartment and make sure to be at the academy at 0900 in two days.

As they were being told this they noticed just how bored the two chunin gate guards were and each quietly thought how they would all become jonin even if it was just so they would never have to work such a boring job (hehe).

The trio of genin then quickly made their way back to their apartment only to find their sensei in the middle of a poker game with some of the other jonin's. Once he had noticed them he had immediately shouted out in victory before he was handed a stack of money from each of the jonin in the room before he congratulated them on completing the second exam with tears of pride and happiness in his eyes as he held his money close.

Once Hayama had eventually stopped he told the three to go to bed in order to catch up on sleep and told them that they would talk about what had happened the next morning. The trio needed no more encouragement as they were all out as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

CHAPTER END

OK so this was a much shorter chapter than normal… sorry about that but I hoped you enjoyed it none of the less.

Now should I do preliminaries or just move on to the final part of the exam? That is the question.

As always **R&R**. See you next time.


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